The Same Shade of Yellow
by Raberba girl
Summary: 15 year old Momo runs into Momiji, who is just back from college in Germany. As she becomes closer to her relatives, Momo uncovers secrets and begins to understand herself better.
1. Meeting at the Grocery Store

The Same Shade of Yellow

A Fruits Basket fanfic by Raberba girl

Author's Note: I don't know most of the characters' ages for sure, so on many of them I guessed or approximated.

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**Chapter 1 - Meeting at the Grocery Store**

_'He barely even looked at me. Just a, "Hey there, Momo!" before running off to catch up with his friends.'_ Momo sighed. _'I might as well just give up now - it's never going to happen.'_

Momo's depressed thoughts had her close to tears by the time it came for her to pay for the groceries. She did so in a daze, too preoccupied with her own thoughts to pay much attention, and then headed for the door. It was no wonder, then, that she didn't see the person coming in until they had crashed into each other.

"Ach!" Momo yelped and scrambled after the food tumbling out of her dropped grocery bags.

"Oh! So sorry about that! Here, let me help you!" Though the fleet impression Momo had gotten suggested a male, the voice was higher than expected, with a note of playfulness running through it. After stuffing things back into one bag, Momo looked up to find the person she had bumped into on his knees next to her. He was smiling at her as he collected the things that had spilled from the second bag. "What a clumsy way to meet, ne? But I'm glad we did - you're cute!"

At that, of course, Momo was almost too flustered to respond when he stood and held out a hand to help her up.

"Here, let me take that," he continued, reaching for the bag she held. "After all the trouble I caused, the least I can do is carry these for you!"

"Ah— no, no, you don't have to do that, it was m-my fault," Momo stammered, wincing as she heard her words lisping. It was always worse when she was surprised or angry.

Sure enough, to her shame and rage, he grinned at her. "So you _do_ still have that lisp. I love it! It's so cute!"

Momo was almost too furious to look at him. She felt so self-conscious about the way she talked, and it was horrible to have a complete stranger commenting on it like that. _"It's so cute"_ indeed! He was making fun of her!

"Give me my bags," Momo snapped, and grabbed for them.

He swung them up out of her reach. "Ah, no, Momo," he said gently. "Don't be mad! I really do think it's cute, but I won't mention it again if you don't want me to." His smile was very disarming. Despite her hot face, Momo realized, as she looked at him, that she wasn't so angry after all.

He was a very good-looking young man. He seemed to be about her age, fifteen, with beautiful brown eyes and slightly curly yellow hair the exact same shade as her own. His clothes, though somewhat flashy, were not unusual for a teenager, and looked good on him. His amazing smile and round, youthful face peeked out from below a floppy cap.

Momo realized that she had met him before. No wonder he kept speaking as if he knew her.

"Oh…you're a Sohma, aren't you? Didn't I used to see you at Papa's building sometimes? And around the Estate when we still lived there-- But you lived in the Inner complex, didn't you, so I didn't see you very often." _'Since when do I _chatter_ like this?'_ Momo wondered. It was probably because she was nervous.

His smile, if possible, grew even more dazzling. He looked absolutely delighted. "You remember me! That's wonderful! I hoped you would, Momo - it's been so long!"

"I--" Momo hesitated, embarrassed. She knew it started with _M_, but beyond that... "I, well, I remember you, but last time I saw you was when I was eight or nine, and I didn't see you that often..."

He giggled. It was an actual giggle, but coming from him, it sounded light-hearted rather than childish. "My name's Momiji!"

"Oh! Thank you." Momo smiled, blushing. Momiji Sohma. She remembered her mother taking her, when she was younger, to pick up her father from his office building. She would see Momiji there every once in a while, helping out the cleaning ladies. Now that she thought about it, it seemed a little odd. Though she had been too young to realize it then, it now struck Momo how alike she and Momiji looked. She supposed it was because they were distant cousins or something, but still...

"It's great how fate seems to bring people together, huh?"

Momo, caught off-guard, nodded politely. The two of them were now walking down the street companionably, Momiji still carrying the groceries.

"I mean, here I am back in Japan after so long - I just flew in this morning-, and I happen to go out shopping at the exact time that you're doing the same thing! Isn't it great?"

"Yes, it is," Momo agreed, still polite. "Why did you leave Japan?" she asked conversationally.

"Oh, I've always wanted to go to Germany - my mama's German, you know-, so I decided to attend college there, like my papa did. I had lots of fun and made so many friends, but then a couple of years after I graduated I thought it was time I ought to come home. Germany's great, and I'm definitely going to visit again, but this is where I belong." He sighed contentedly. "There's so many memories here. I can't wait to see the rest of the family again, too! Akito, and Tohru and Kyo, and Ha'ri--"

"Wait a second," Momo cut in, a little desperately. "Graduated? From - from _college_?"

"Yup!" Momiji really did have the most adorable grin.

"But - you look like you're _my_ age. I thought you were just beginning high school!"

Momiji was still grinning as he said, "Oh, no, I'm 24! Ta da!"

"Oh..." Momo couldn't help staring at him. He looked so _young_! Even now that she knew he was 24, he still looked like a teenager. Except for the fact that he was very tall, he would not have looked at all out of place at Momo's school.

"Hey, Momo, can I take you out to lunch?"

"Ah…but, you never bought groceries," Momo flustered, her mind still on college. She winced at how much like an excuse it seemed.

"Oh, that's all right, I can always do it later! I'd rather spend time with _you_." Again he smiled, and Momo felt warm all the way to the tips of her fingers. Even if he was a relative, it felt so nice that a cute guy, who at least _looked_ 15, was interested in her.

Momo smiled back. "I'd like that. I'd better drop off the groceries and let Mama know, but I think it will be okay."

"Good! Watch out, lunch, we're coming for you!"

Momo laughed.

_to be continued..._

Author's Notes: I was baby-sitting when the idea for this fic came to me. Originally, it was supposed to be a one-shot about 15-year-old Momo meeting Momiji again, and what turned out to be chapter 1 of this fic was about as far as I intended to go. However, there wasn't enough material to work with, and I was on the point of deciding to just drop the whole endeavor. Then it occurred to me to wonder what all the _other_ Fruits Basket characters would be up to nine years after the end of the series, and everything took off from there.

This is the first time I have written a story in the third person limited POV.

Though I didn't really like Momo before I started writing this fic, for some reason I found it easy to write from her point of view. It helped that I was able to draw from my own experiences in order to form the character I imagined teenage Momo to be.


	2. Double Date

_The Same Shade of Yellow_, by Raberba girl

**Chapter 2 - Double Date**

The restaurant was nice but not formal. Although Momiji was never silent, his chatter was not one-sided at all, and Momo had plenty of opportunities to talk. She even began to drop some of her shyness, and was surprised to find how animated she was sometimes as she spoke. Momiji's smile and enthusiasm encouraged her, and Momo liked how positive he was, as if he could look at any part of life and find something good about it.

His cheerful energy was not contained by his body and seemed to spill over; just by being near him, Momo felt happier and more relaxed than she had in a long time. As she spoke of school, teachers, her friends, schoolwork, and leisure activities, Momo realized how used she was to being shy and uncomfortable. Even when just hanging out with her friends, she felt as if she was holding herself back somehow, and the strain of it made her always feel tight and wary. This feeling of being able to speak freely, to someone who appreciated her and was eager to listen to what she had to say, was so wonderful.

Already Momo loved Momiji like a brother, this person who could banish her self-consciousness just by talking in that bright, excited way of his. Momo even forgot for a while that she had a lisp.

"Ah, Momiji! I send you out for groceries, and you end up here!" Both Momo and Momiji looked up. A pretty, dark-haired woman was bounding across the restaurant towards them.

Momiji laughed and exclaimed, "Ah, sorry Kagura! But listen, listen, I met someone!"

A man walked up and said, "Hey, Kagura, aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?"

Kagura bounced up and whacked him affectionately on the back. He winced. "I _love_ you, Dai-chan! This is my cousin, Momiji, the one I told you about. He just got back from Germany and he's staying with me for a while. And this is Momo-chan, she's another cousin. I haven't seen her in - gosh, since New Year's! Hello, Momo-chan!"

"Hello, Kagura-san," Momo said shyly. She was blushing again, and her hands were folded in her lap.

"And Momo-chan, Momiji, this is my boyfriend, Daisuke. Isn't he adorable?" Smiling ecstatically, Kagura squeezed his hand, and Momo became alarmed when she heard faint but unmistakable crunching sounds.

"Um...Kagura-san...?"

"Kagura!" Momiji exclaimed, "He's whimpering!"

"Oh! I'm sorry, Dai-chan! Are you all right? Did I hurt you? I'm sorry, it's only because I love you so much!"

"I know, I know," Daisuke said with a strained smile. "My woman," he said to Momo, "has got quite a strong grip." He patted Kagura's shoulder fondly, but gingerly.

"Hey, hey Kagura! Come sit with us!" Momiji said eagerly. "Or, do you want to be alone on your date?"

"No, let's eat together!" Kagura said enthusiastically, and sat down. Daisuke shrugged and followed suit.

"So, Momo," Momiji said as Kagura and Daisuke were ordering their food, "What was that you were saying, about that guy you like?"

"Oh." Momo blushed. Now that Kagura and Daisuke were there, she felt shy again. "Um, Ronnie-kun...but, you know, we can talk about something else."

"Oh, no!" Kagura exclaimed. "A crush, a crush! Tell me! I used to have the hugest crush on this one guy..." She sighed happily. "Dear Kyo-kun. He had the prettiest orange hair! And he was so strong and cool--"

"Eh, Kagura! You want to make me jealous or something?" Daisuke exclaimed. Kagura made a happy sound and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I want to hear about Ronnie," Momiji said encouragingly. "Come on, tell us!"

"Oh, well...I don't..."

"That name, 'Ronnie,'" Daisuke said. "Is it American?"

"Oh, yes. His parents are American, but they moved here when he was five years old, so he grew up here. He has two younger sisters...and...he has blue eyes..." _'Just stop, Momo,'_ she told herself firmly. _'You sound like an idiot.'_

"Eh! Well, tell us more!" Kagura prompted when Momo's voice trailed off. "How long have you liked him? Have you told him yet?"

Momo was no longer having fun. "I've liked him for a few months now, ever since I started high school. But I...haven't told-- I mean, yesterday I tried to ask him if he'd...help me with a question I had on the homework, but he just-- Before I could even ask it right, he just said hi and then went off after his friends--"

"Hey, Momo-chan!" Kagura exclaimed, "That's no way to go about it! You gotta be bold! Guys like it when you just come straight out with it, they think you're cool!" She pushed back her chair and got to her feet, caught up in her own advice. "You have to go up to them and say, 'Hey, Daisuke-kun! I think you're cute and I like you a lot, will you go out with me?' And then they'll be _so_ impressed that they'll say on the spot, 'Sure, you're not so bad yourself. Let's go see the new Mogeta movie, but you're paying for it.' And then--"

"Kagura," Daisuke started, pulling on her sleeve. Not hearing him, she grabbed his arm and yanked him up beside her.

"And then you'll watch the movie, and Mogeta will come _blasting_ out just when all the bad guys have the good guys surrounded--"

"Kagura!" Daisuke cried. Kagura was now dashing about the restaurant, dragging him along with her as she acted out a scene from the movie.

"--and he'll power up with his super-secret weapon, and _shout_ out the attack-word, 'MOGE-MOGE-GO!', and then POW!--" Daisuke went flying "--the evil Emperor will be defeated and the world will be saved!"

"Kagura..." Daisuke whimpered.

"Eh! Daisuke!" Momiji cried. He ran past tables full of staring people and got down next to Daisuke. "Daisuke! Are you okay?"

Daisuke groaned. "Maybe..."

"Dai-chan!" Kagura screamed. She threw herself on Daisuke and wailed. "Oh Dai-chan, my poor Dai-chan! Your cheek is red, you'll get a bruise! Who could have done this to you? Who would be so cruel?"

"You would," Daisuke grinned, a bit painfully. Momiji was grinning too. Momo sat and stared at them, confused.

Just then, Kagura's phone went off. "Oh?" She pulled it out of her purse and flipped it open. "Hello?" There was a pause. "Yes, of course I will, but just now I'm having lunch with Dai-chan, and also with Momo-chan and Momiji." She giggled. "Yes, yes, Momiji's back! You didn't know? Ah! Then we'll bring him over too. Bye-bye, Kyo-kun!" Kagura laughed again and clicked her phone off.

She turned to her cousin. "Momiji, Kyo-kun wants to know if we can pick up Kia-chan from her friend's house. Tohru-kun's busy cooking, Shihan's still having a lesson with Haku-chan, and Kyo-kun won't be back before Kia-chan has to leave. You want to come with us?"

"Yes, yes!" Momiji said happily. "I haven't said hello to Tohru and Kyo yet! And I still haven't met their kids!"

"Oh yeah, you haven't! They are the cutest little things _ever_, Momiji! Kia-chan looks just like her daddy, and Haku-chan is the image of Tohru-kun; you'll see!"

Momiji turned to Momo. "Momo, come with us!"

"Oh! Um, I wouldn't want to intrude, and I'm sure I should be getting home..."

"Oh please, Momo," Momiji pleaded, "You can call your mama and ask if it's all right, and you're not intruding at all! I _want_ you to come with us!" He looked at her so sadly that Momo felt like doing anything to make him smile again. "Do you really not want to go?"

"Oh, well-- If Mama says it's okay, then, yes! I'll go with you."

"Yaaay!" Immediately the delighted smile was back, and Momo wondered at the happiness she had caused by just a few simple words.

"It's settled, then! Momo's coming with us!" Momiji crowed. "Let's call it, 'The Special Trip With Momo to Tohru and Kyo's House!'"

"You don't have to name it," Daisuke said, shaking his head.

_to be continued..._

Author's Notes: I don't like Kagura that much and don't enjoy writing about her, but she turned out to play a bigger part in this fic than I thought she would. (And Hatsuharu, whom I really like, ended up playing a very tiny part...sorry, Haru!) Kagura turned out all right, I think.

I only stuck Daisuke in because I needed Kagura to have a boyfriend (I picked his name because I didn't want to spend too much time on it and it seemed like a fairly common Japanese name - several anime characters are called Daisuke), but he turned out to be a very good character. Unlike most of my originals, who let me create them and then run off with the story. Daisuke managed to grow and develop on his own, yet he left me the reins and didn't try to yank me around. I like him a lot just for that.


	3. The Special Trip With Momo to Tohru and ...

_The Same Shade of Yellow_, by Raberba girl

**Chapter 3 - The Special Trip With Momo to Tohru and Kyo's House!**

Author's Note: For those who don't know, "shishou" means something like "teacher" or "master." "Shihan" is what Kagura and Yuki call Kazuma; I think it also means "teacher."

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Kia was a pretty six-year-old with red hair and piercing eyes. The moment she climbed into the car, she pinned Momo with her gaze and asked loudly, "Who's she, Aunt Kagura?"

"That's my cousin, Momo-chan," Kagura said, "and that's my other cousin, Momiji. Say hello!"

"Hi," Kia said doubtfully as Kagura pulled out of the driveway.

Momiji grinned. "Hello, Kia-chan! Nice to meet you!"

Kia smiled back. It so transformed her face that she now looked ferociously beautiful instead of just pretty. Momo noticed that her canines were slightly more pointed than usual.

Kia, thankfully, now turned her attention to Kagura's boyfriend. "Hi, Uncle Daisuke."

Kagura laughed, delighted.

Daisuke sweatdropped. "Now, I think we're getting a little ahead of ourselves, Kia - but it's nice to see you, too."

Kia settled down in her seat, opened her mouth to talk about how much fun she had had at her friend's house, and did not stop talking until they had reached their destination. Only Momiji had any hope of keeping up with her, which he did most cheerfully.

The house they came to was an old traditional one. Momo noticed, when they got out of the car and approached, that most of the paper doors looked like they had been damaged and repaired quite often.

Kia ran ahead and threw herself inside. "Mama! I'm home! Aunt Kagura is with me, and Uncle Daisuke, and blonde people!"

A ginger cat ambled out of the kitchen, followed by a pretty woman in an apron. The first thing Momo noticed was the woman's big blue eyes, and then the sweet, welcoming smile curving her mouth.

The woman went to her knees and held out her arms so that Kia could run straight into them. They kissed, and the woman just had time for a, "Welcome home, darling," before Kia began enthusiastically repeating everything she had chattered about in the car. Kia's mother smiled at her guests and stood up, with her arms still around her daughter.

"In a minute, sweetheart," she said gently, "I can listen while you help me finish the rice."

"Aw, 'kay," Kia grumbled. She pulled away, scooped up the cat, and cuddled it roughly. "Ooober goober woober, you _looooove_ petting, _don't_ you pussy-poo?" Then she ran upstairs to put away her backpack. The cat unflattened its ears and shook its head briskly, then marched away.

"Kagura-chan, Daisuke-san, hello!" Kia's mother said. She gave Kagura a hug and looked absolutely delighted.

"Hello, Tohru-kun!" Kagura sang out, beaming. Daisuke nodded politely.

"And Momiji-kun!"

"Tohru!" Momiji said happily. They clasped hands and gazed at each other with such love and friendship in their eyes that Momo was surprised they didn't embrace.

"It's been so long, Momiji-kun! We really missed you."

"Sorry, sorry, Tohru! But I was having so much fun! Germany is the best!"

"That's wonderful, Momiji-kun! You can tell us about it during supper. You are staying for supper, aren't you?"

"Of course! I have lots and lots to tell you!"

Tohru now turned to Momo, and a pleased look came to her face. "Hello, Momo-san. I haven't seen you in a very long time, either." Momo did not remember ever meeting Tohru at all. "Will you stay for supper as well?"

"I would like to," Momo said shyly. "I'll let my mama know."

"Of course. That would be wonderful, Momo-san. Oh, Momiji-kun! I forgot to say, Akito-san and Yuki-kun are coming over as well. That's why I've been so busy today, getting ready."

"Are they?" Momiji said delightedly. "How great! Now I can say hi to them, too! Everyone together in the same place!"

"It's a good thing I am making so much food," Tohru said with a smile. "There is enough for four extra people, I think."

"Excellent," Daisuke said heartily. "Your cooking has always been the best, Mrs. Tohru Sohma."

Tohru smiled happily. Momo was fascinated by that smile - like Momiji's, it seemed to find joy in everything.

Just then, a five-year-old boy in a white training outfit came running in. "Mama, Mama!" With his brown hair and big blue eyes, he looked a great deal like Tohru. "Look what Grandfather showed me how to do! Hai-YAH!" He kicked out, and a nearby game of checkers went flying.

Momo gasped at the suddenness of it. The little boy clapped his hands over his mouth and stared at his mother, who smiled a little.

"That's all right, Tohaku. Would you like me to help you pick it up?"

"No!" Tohaku said eagerly, "I can do it myself!" He then went scampering across the floor, chasing red and black pieces, and Momiji grinned at Momo and joined in.

"Hey Tohaku, I bet I can get more pieces than you!"

"Nuh-uh! I'm faster!" As the two of them went tearing around the room, Momo looked up and noticed that a handsome older man had come in after Tohaku. He had faded black hair and wore the clothes of a _dojo_ master. Momo dimly remembered him as a Sohma very skilled in the martial arts. As she watched, he absently reached out to stroke the head of a skinny black and white cat that was lounging on a nearby shelf. At his touch, the cat swirled to its feet and pushed its head into the man's hand.

"Forgive me, Tohru, I should have told him not to do that in the house."

"Oh no, Shishou-san, there was no harm done. I am glad to see that Tohaku is learning so enthusiastically!"

They smiled at each other, and then Kazuma turned to the newcomers. The black and white cat, looking disgruntled at the sudden lack of attention, plopped back down and began to lick itself. "Hello Kagura, Daisuke-san."

"Hi, Shihan!" Kagura sang out. "Hey Tohru-kun, do you need any help in the kitchen?"

"Well, um--"

"Don't worry! Leave it to me! I'll be the best cook's helper ever!" Kagura grabbed Daisuke's arm and zoomed with him into the kitchen.

"Oops! I had better go after her," Tohru said in a low, laughing voice. "By the way, Momo-san, this is my father-in-law, Kazuma Sohma. Shishou-san, this is Momo-san; she is Momiji-kun's-- ah, relative. Well, she is your relative too, but...ah, well, I am glad she is here!" She gave a hurried nod and smile to them both, and then went back to the kitchen.

"It's nice to meet you," Momo said, bowing.

"Likewise," Kazuma returned with a smile.

And then Momo had no clue what to say. _'So...you like martial arts?'_ Before the silence could grow too awkward, Momiji popped up beside them. "Hey, hey! Do you guys know how to play Fruits Basket?"

"Yeah!" Tohaku announced before Momo could speak, "Mama taught us! Let's play that, it's fun, it's fun!"

"I think I'll pass," Kazuma murmured, but Tohaku grabbed him before he could escape.

"No, stay and play with us, Grandfather! Please?" Then, without warning, Tohaku fired such a sweet, big-blue-eyed, imploring look at his grandfather that Momo did not blame poor Kazuma for surrendering.

"All right, then. Go upstairs and fetch your sister."

"Yay! Fruits Basket, Fruits Basket!" Tohaku went charging upstairs, and a second later Daisuke came slinking out of the kitchen with the air of a fugitive.

"Are you going to play a game? Count me in! I'll do anything! I'm not meant for the kitchen!" Momiji laughed, took hold of Daisuke's hands, and pulled him outside. Momo and Kazuma followed more slowly, and before they had even reached the door, the kids caught up. Kia and Tohaku raced past, and as soon as they were outside they began capering and crowing around the yard.

"How do you play?" Momo wanted to know when everyone was assembled.

"Everyone is a fruit," Tohaku started, and Kia interrupted, "I want to be a cat!"

"No, _I'm_ the cat!" Tohaku exclaimed.

"_I'm_ the cat!"

"I AM!"

"Hey," Kazuma said, placing a firm hand on one orange head and one brown one, "Kia will be Orange-cat and Haku will be Lizard-cat."

"Yay!" Both kids cheered, then immediately began squabbling over which cat was better.

"Fruit? Or animals?" Momo wondered, confused.

Kazuma smiled. "Haku and Kia play it differently. In this version you can be a fruit or an animal, or even another type of food. It's all right."

"I'm going to be a bunny!" Momiji announced happily.

"I'll be...a big fat pig!" Daisuke decided. He made a goofy face and the kids laughed.

Feeling torn now about whether to be a proper fruit or go with the rest and be an animal, Momo was relieved when Kazuma said, "I think I'll be an apple. That's a nice normal fruit. You can be grapefruit, Momo."

"Thank you," Momo said, smiling at him. He smiled back, and Momo decided that she liked this steady, understanding man.

"Okay, GO!" Tohaku screamed. "Orange-cat!"

Kia yelled and chased after him. Now Momo was confused again.

"A person is 'It' when the name of their fruit is called," Kazuma explained. "But when we play with Kia and Haku, rules usually go out the window."

"Wonderful!" Momiji laughed. Then he shouted "Bunny!" and ran after the kids. Daisuke chuckled and skipped after them.

Kazuma looked at Momo and shrugged.

"Apple," Momo giggled, and then fled as Kazuma lunged at her.

The game turned out to be something like a free-for-all version of "Tag." Everyone chased after everyone else, occasionally screaming out the names of different kinds of fruits. A couple of times Kia or Tohaku fell or smashed into things and so acquired several scrapes and bruises, but a comforting word and a kiss from Kazuma were always enough to send them scampering off again, laughing and almost as good as new.

Daisuke, after a while, began inventing a complicated spur-of-the-moment "base" system that would allow him to catch his breath. The kids seemed delighted. Inspired, they started to find hiding places in which they could crouch when no one was looking, and so launch ambush attacks on other unsuspecting players when one happened to wander by.

They all had so much fun, dashing about the lawn and tagging each other and sometimes collapsing in tumbling, wrestling heaps, that time flew by. Sooner than Momo could believe, the light changed and the day turned to late afternoon. Tohru's voice called out over the lawn.

"Everyone! Come inside, Kyo will be home soon."

"Daddy!" Kia and Tohaku struggled to their feet, slid about, managed to find the right direction, and went haring across to the house. Daisuke, on the ground, groaned and rolled over. Kazuma, also on the ground, was trying to catch his breath - the kids had been jumping on both of them.

"I forget how much energy those children have." Kazuma smoothed his hair out of his face and brushed leaves off his clothes.

"Ah, Kazuma! You're getting out of shape, then? Who'd have thought!" Momiji teased. He looked as fresh as if he hadn't been running around like crazy for an hour and a half.

Momo helped Daisuke pick leaves out of his hair, then stood for a minute trying to catch her breath. "I'm out of shape, too," she said. "I haven't run this much since I was a little kid."

"Come on, I think she has snacks!" said Momiji. Momo, Daisuke, and Kazuma followed him up to the house, where, sure enough, Tohru had the kids settled with juice and crackers.

"I don't want to spoil their appetites," she explained. Momo, nevertheless, was grateful for the drink, and she gulped it down.

Kia played with the big ginger cat as she munched, carefully dripping juice along its spine with her fingertip. The cat huddled up with a not-happy look on its face, but it didn't attempt to move.

A few minutes later, just when the children had finished and were beginning to get restless, a voice suddenly rang out from outside. "I'm home!" The door slashed open, and a handsome man with fiery orange hair and eyes as jolting as his daughter's filled the entryway. "Hello, Shishou. Tohru--"

He turned swiftly to kiss his wife, which gave the kids the opportunity to run and pounce on him while his back was turned. The ginger cat fled. Tohaku grabbed Kyo around the neck with both arms and hung on for dear life, while Kia took in fistfuls of her father's shirt.

"Whoa!" Kyo stumbled back expertly, keeping his balance. He began stomping around the room, pretending to rage, with Tohaku bouncing on his back and Kia being dragged along behind him. "Tohru! What the heck's going on, there's something on my back!" Kia and Tohaku shrieked with laughter, as Tohru and the others stood to the side, smiling.

"Argh! They're wriggling! Get 'em off, get 'em off!"

"Daddy, Daddy, look behind you!" Tohaku couldn't help shrieking.

Kyo whirled around. "Where?!" He whirled back, shooting out a hand as he did so to catch Kia, who had almost lost her balance. "Where?! I don't see anything! Tohru!"

Tohru came forward, laughing, and tugged the kids away so that Kyo could see them properly.

"Eh?!" Kyo exclaimed, and Kia and Tohaku went hushed and grinning with anticipation. "They're kids!"

"Daddy, Daddy!" Kia and Tohaku chanted in unison.

"They're _my_ kids!"

Kia and Tohaku screamed with laughter. Then Kyo jumped on Tohaku, threatening to tickle him, and Kia instantly leaped to her brother's defense, yanking back on Kyo's arms rather painfully. Both kids were shouting nonstop with excitement. A few minutes later when things were a bit calmer, Tohru ventured to introduce Kyo to Momo.

Kyo dragged himself to his knees, with one arm around Tohaku and the fingers of his other hand tangled in Kia's hair. "Hi. I think I've seen you before, back at the Sohma House." He grinned at Momo, then winced when Kia playfully bit his neck. "Gah, Kia! Save that for your dinner!" The kids laughed. Then Kyo turned his head, and his eyes widened as he caught sight of Momiji. "Oh yeah, the brat's back!" he exclaimed. Kyo slid the kids out of his arms and Momiji bounced over to hug him. Kyo twisted his fist against Momiji's head. "Geez, you grew! Sort of."

"And you've got kittens! They're gorgeous!" Momiji returned.

At that, Kyo looked too pleased to think up a suitable friendly insult. He turned his attention instead to Daisuke. "Hey, Daisuke."

"Kyo," Daisuke greeted with a nod and a wave.

Then Kyo frowned. "Wait. If you're here, that means--"

"KYO-KUN!" Kagura came tearing out of the kitchen. She flung herself at Kyo and had her arms around him before he had time to run.

"H'lo...Kag'ra..." Kyo choked. Kagura made a happy meowing sound and squeezed harder. Again, Momo thought she heard bones cracking. Grinning, she looked to Daisuke as she remembered the scene in the restaurant, but then her smile faded as she saw the closed, set look of his face.

Was he jealous? Come to think of it, Momo had never seen Kagura hug Daisuke, especially not like the way she was hugging Kyo now. Of course, Momo had only just met Kagura and Daisuke, but still...

"Daddy, Daddy," Kia said, impatiently prying Kagura's arms away, "can we play a game?"

"A game? You've just been playing all afternoon!"

Tohaku dreamily turned his head and fired the Irresistible Look.

"Urk...well...if you want to..."

"Yay! Let's play hide-and-seek!"

Though Kazuma, saying he was tired, went to help Tohru in the kitchen, everyone else trooped back outside. Momo went gladly; she had not had this much fun in a long time.

Kagura turned out to be "It" first, and it was thrilling to be chased by someone who had such a delicious roar. Momo laughed and laughed as she clung to the tree that had been designated as "base," though her legs were a little shaky. She watched Kagura stampeding around, bellowing out play-threats and pursuing Daisuke, whose screams sounded a bit too sincere. Kia and Tohaku, giggling uncontrollably, kept touching base and then skipping out a few feet to taunt whoever was "It," before leaping back to safety.

Once, Kyo hid in the branches of a tree; when Daisuke, who was "It," passed by underneath, Kyo came plummeting down with a hair-raising, cat-like yowl. Daisuke, paralyzed with alarm, simply stared as Kyo laughed and skipped his way over to the base.

After a while Momiji started bunny-hopping instead of running, which gave him surprising speed; no one was able to catch him. Kia and Tohaku, intrigued, began bunny-hopping around the yard as well, and Momo shyly hopped along with them. Upon which point, Kyo said he had had enough and went inside. Daisuke flopped onto the grass and tried to get his breath back. Kagura crawled over to him and started lovingly murmuring into, and occasionally nibbling on, one of his ears.

By now the sun was beginning to set. Again, Momo was surprised at how quickly the afternoon had seemed to flash by. Feeling happy and accepted, Momo sat back on her heels and smiled at the world.

Kazuma stepped out onto the lawn. "They're here. Everyone inside."

Kagura and Momiji surged to their feet. Daisuke struggled to his, and the two children suddenly went quiet. They slipped into the house without the usual tumbling and yelling, and Kagura and Momiji went so fast that they almost didn't stop to wait for Daisuke and Momo.

When they came in, Kyo's voice was yelling from the front, "Look what the cat dragged in! It's a dirty little rat!" He entered and stood aside to let in two other men. In years past, their beauty had never ceased to amaze Momo, and now she stood, as always, dumb and staring and strangely elated.

The first newcomer, dressed in black jeans and a flowing white shirt, had hair so dark it almost looked purple. His eyes, a deep velvety blue, moved slowly around the room and paused when they saw her. He smiled, and Momo felt for a moment as if they were the only two people in the universe. Then his gaze passed on, and Momo felt shaken and a little drained, though at the same time oddly happy.

He moved across the room and sat down with slow, careful grace. His skin was the color of pearls, his face delicate and beautiful. He had a fragile look about him, yet a quiet kind of strength glowed through his eyes. One could tell just by looking at him that he had seen difficult times, yet had emerged triumphant.

"Akito!" Momiji interrupted Momo's reverent daze when he threw himself across the room in delight. His arms, though, were gentle when they went around the thin shoulders. "Akito, I'm back!"

"Momiji," Akito murmured, stroking the yellow curls with the back of one slender finger. "I've missed you." Akito's eyes turned to Momo, and he smiled again. "Hello, Momo. I don't believe we've really spoken before. It is good to see you here."

"I-I'm honored," Momo said, trying to smile. It was terrifying and exhilarating, being so close to the head of the family. She wished she could just shut up and drink him in.

Then Akito's attention was pulled back to Momiji, who was chattering and exclaiming over things like Germany and Momo and hide-and-seek. Akito just smiled and listened, and seemed to drink in Momiji the same way Momo was drinking in Akito. _'He takes such pleasure in being with his family,'_ Momo thought admiringly. _'He likes them, and he's interested in them. I wish...'_

An image of Mama came to mind, unbidden. To distract herself, Momo shook her head and looked at the second man who had come in with Akito. This one had silvery-gray hair, violet eyes, pale skin, and a feminine face as beautiful as Akito's, though he was dressed more conservatively.

"Hello, Tohru-san," he was saying now.

"Yuki-kun! Welcome!"

"It was good of you to invite us."

"Yeah, she's been cooking all day for you, Rat Boy, so be grateful," Kyo said forcefully.

"'Be grateful,' right?" Yuki responded calmly. "This, coming from the guy who used to say that she was nasty and he hated her food?"

"Why, you-- !" Kyo growled. He crouched into a fighting position.

"Fight, fight!" Kia and Tohaku began to chant. "Yay, fight!"

Yuki grinned and loosened his collar. "Come on, Kitty. Make this worth my time."

"Whoo! Go Daddy!" Kia shrieked.

"Meow!" Tohaku cheered.

Momo's hands were at her mouth when the combatants' fists and feet began to fly. She was so intent on anxiously watching the fight that she jumped when she felt a hand on her elbow.

"Momo," Akito said gently, "It's all right, they're just playing."

"Yeah," Momiji piped up cheerfully, "They're good friends, really. Kagura tells me they haven't fought for real in years."

"Still, it looks so real," Momo said, worried as she watched Kazuma ducking away from a wayward punch. Everyone had retreated to the far corners of the room in order to give Yuki and Kyo space to move. Suddenly, Kyo's foot landed on a checkers piece that Momiji and Tohaku had missed. His foot slid and he lost his balance; he came crashing down with a yell, until Yuki suddenly caught him just before he reached the ground.

"Kyo, are you all right?" Yuki asked without thinking.

"No!" Kyo snapped out automatically. They stared at each other for a second, then chuckled, looking embarrassed. As everyone else laughed, Yuki let go and helped Kyo up.

"Clumsy cat," Yuki said affectionately.

"And what about you and your prince-heroics? Geez!"

"Well, I could have just let you crack open that orange head of yours..."

"Did you watch carefully, Tohaku?" Kazuma was saying. "You will want to avoid imitating that weak guard of Kyo's. You've got to be alert for anything so that you are not caught by surprise."

"And what is that supposed to mean, Shishou?!" Kyo yelled good-naturedly at him.

Momiji could not contain himself any longer. "Yuki! I'm back!"

Yuki looked startled, then pleased. "Momiji!" Momiji bounced over and hugged him. "Goodness, how long has it been?"

"Years and years! I missed you!"

"Look at you, you look like - well, a teenager, anyway." Yuki smiled.

"Yeah, still as flashy as ever," Kyo cut in. "Momiji, by the time you get to look your age, you'll be dead."

"Ha! Kyo's envious of my youthful looks!"

"I AM NOT!"

As Kyo and Momiji argued, Yuki turned to Momo. "Well, here's a cute face I haven't seen before."

Momo blushed and looked down. "Hello...it's nice to meet you." She did not mention that Yuki had spoken to her a few times at the New Year's celebrations.

"Oh, that's Momo!" Momiji announced. He skipped to her side and took her hand. "Momo Sohma, remember?"

"Oh! Yes," Yuki said, with a smile as if he had just realized something. "Seeing you together, I recognize you now, Momo-san. It's good to see you again."

Momo could sense Akito behind her, as he stood up and moved toward the kitchen. "Tohru," he said in his quiet, silky voice, "is there anything I can do to help?"

"Oh, no, no!" she exclaimed. "You're our guest, Akito-san, I wouldn't dream of putting you to any trouble!"

"But I would _like_ to help," he insisted gently, and smiled at her. "If there is anything left to do, that is."

"Oh! But, um--"

"Aw, let him help, Tohru, he won't leave you alone 'til you do," Kyo said. "He's not a cripple, you know." At this, Akito turned his smile onto Kyo, and his eyes narrowed. This gave him a sharp, pleased look, more meaningful somehow than the sweetly polite smile of before.

For a little while everyone sat in the living room and talked, and as before, Momo felt herself relaxing into their company. She was enjoying herself, and although everyone else seemed to know each other very well, most of their conversation was kept on a level she could understand. Momiji kept making them all laugh with college stories. The only confusing bits were when Kyo and Yuki kept referring to each other as Cat and Rat, but Momo finally decided that it must be an inside joke.

Presently, Tohru and Akito came in with bowls and chopsticks and platters of food, and then nearly everyone else got up to help bring in and set up the meal. The food was delicious -- almost no one spoke, they were too busy eating.

The two cats came in, mewing and begging. When Yuki found the black-and-white one pawing cutely at his sleeve, he set down his chopsticks, seized the cat, and cuddled it roughly in his arms. "_Who's_ a stupid kitty," he crooned, kneading Black-and-White's head with his fingers, "Whooo's a _baka-neko_? _You_ are, yes youuu are." Black-and-White squirmed, and Yuki stopped stroking it. Black-and-White shook its head, blinked in a surprised kind of way, then butted at Yuki's neck, asking for more. Yuki grinned and resumed.

"She likes you," Tohaku remarked happily.

Meanwhile, Kia was giggling as she watched the ginger cat. Ginger had sidled over to Akito, plopped down, and was looking pointedly at him as it swished its tail back and forth. Akito ignored it for a minute, then glanced over and returned the stare. Then he grinned and lightly flicked at Ginger's ear. The ear twitched in annoyance, but there was no other reaction. Akito flicked a few more times, and Ginger got that fed-up look again as its ears twitched madly, but it did not move. Then Akito tired of teasing the cat and turned back to his food. Ginger got up in a huff, turned its back on Akito, and minced over to Kyo.

"Oh, no you don't," Kyo said warningly. "You're fat enough as it is." Ginger stepped into Kyo's lap and sat down. "Stupid cat!"

Ginger purred.

Tohru laughed and stood up. "Here, I'll shut them in the laundry room and give them their own supper." The ginger cat yowled as it was taken from Kyo, looking very silly with all four legs stuck out. After a moment, though, it grumbled and settled against Tohru's shoulder.

When Tohru came for the black-and-white cat, Yuki cuddled it closer and pretended to pout. "Kitty doesn't want to leave. Kitty wants to stay right here with mousie."

"If Kitty had more than two brain cells, Kitty would quit mooning around with mousie and take a bite out of him," Kyo said.

"Yes, well, it's good to know you've finally come around," Yuki said smoothly. "Realizing that cats are of a lower intelligence order, and all."

"Why, you--! You just say that again, Rat-face!"

"That again, Rat-face."

Kyo pretended to sputter with tongue-tied rage, as the kids fell over laughing at the cheap joke.

Tohru bundled the pets away, and by the time she returned, everyone was having a conversation about cats. Momo discovered that the black-and-white cat was named Sooty and belonged to Tohaku, and the ginger cat was named Ginger and belonged to Kia. They had been adopted a couple of years ago as kittens, when Kia saw them in a pet store and fell in love.

The conversation gradually moved off to other things. Yuki remarked once that Tohru's cooking was better than ever, and Akito murmured about how honored he was that she had put so much time and effort into preparing the meal. Tohru blushed and thanked them. Kyo placed a hand on her waist, murmuring something about how even by her usual high standards she had outdone herself this time (though she really needn't have bothered to do anything in honor of the Rat). Even Momo felt warmed by the sincerity of the compliments, though they were not directed at her.

Kia and Tohaku, being children, of course finished long before the adults did. To stop their whining and bored sighs, Momiji went up with them to look at the zodiac puppets they were making. The others eventually put their chopsticks down, one by one, and Kagura offered to clean up.

"Oh, no, no! You were such a help earlier, Kagura-chan, I couldn't possibly let you--!"

"I could help her," Yuki put in. "I wouldn't mind. Kagura and Kyo and I can get it done quickly if we work together."

"Why me?!"

"Is this how you look after your wife, Cat? Make her slave all day in the kitchen and then don't lift a finger to clean up afterwards?"

Kyo jumped up in a passion. "Don't you talk to me that way! I'll wash _all_ the dishes way faster than _you_ could, Rat Boy!"

"I highly doubt that -- at least, if the goal is to keep everything unbroken by the end."

"Is that a challenge?!"

"If you say so."

"Fine! Bring it on!" Kyo zoomed into the kitchen. Kagura chuckled and followed him.

Yuki stood up calmly. "Thank you very much, Tohru-san."

"Yes, it was an excellent meal," Kazuma agreed.

Daisuke patted his stomach and smiled brilliantly.

"Oh! Thank you! You all are so kind," Tohru said with a pleased blush. Yuki walked into the kitchen, where Momo could hear the sounds of Kyo splashing dishes and heatedly replying to Kagura's cheerful criticisms.

After a few moments of silence, during which everyone kept looking at each other and smiling and waiting for someone else to say something, Akito gave a brief chuckle. "Look at us. In this noisy house, we are so quiet."

Tohru smiled and placed her hand lovingly on the floor. "This house has always been so dear to me. Even when it was just me here with Kyo, Yuki-kun, and Shigure-san, things always seemed to be lively."

When no one seemed inclined to reply to this, Momo asked shyly, "Ah-- who is Shigure-san?" In the silence that followed, her heart twisted as she saw that she had said something wrong. Their faces had become so sad...

"Shigure-san," Tohru murmured. There were tears in her eyes.

"Was he another Sohma?" Daisuke asked curiously.

"Yes," said Kazuma. "This house used to be his. Then Yuki-kun came to live with him, and later Kyo and Tohru." He paused. "This house has seen a lot of things, both beautiful and heartbreaking..." He seemed about to elaborate, but then checked himself and fell silent. "Perhaps it is best not to say too much," he murmured after a moment.

Tohru saw the restrained curiosity on Momo's and Daisuke's faces. She smiled. "For a long time, the Sohmas were not a happy family. Several people, including me, worked hard to relieve the Sohma clan of its burden. But, though others had a part in it, Shigure-san was the one who finally succeeded." She paused, then went on in a low voice. "Only...he had to hurt a lot of people to do so. He hurt me badly, and Kyo, and Akito, and several others..." She wiped futilely at her face. "I still love him," she managed to choke out, and then she seemed unable to speak again. Kazuma put a comforting arm around her shoulders, and Tohru leaned against him to hide her face. Momo felt depressed and uncomfortable, wishing she had never asked about Shigure.

"But I don't get it," Daisuke said after a moment, sounding apologetic. "What exactly did he do? What do you mean by the Sohmas not being a happy family?"

Akito looked at him and smiled that meaningful, narrow-eyed smile again. This time it was a gentle warning. "Let's not talk about that now. It is a family secret."

"Yes, Daisuke-san," Momo said hurriedly. "We've caused enough trouble already."

Akito raised a hand and touched her cheek with the back of one finger. "You are sweet, Momo. I like you. Don't think ill of Shigure, however. I've forgiven him - most of us have, I think - and he rests easy in my mind." Akito leaned close to Momo so that his hair brushed against hers, and she felt breathless with his nearness. "Besides, it seems pointless to say anything against the dead." He leaned back and sighed, looking sad. "Ah, Shigure...I miss him. I wish him happiness."

They were all startled by the sound of a dish breaking in the kitchen, and Kyo's yelp of pain. Tohru wiped her eyes and tried to laugh, and Akito moved away from Momo in a movement like a breeze.

"I'd better go see what's going on," Tohru said, and got up to see to her husband. Momo sat for a moment, deep in thought, and then felt a touch on her shoulder.

"Momo," Momiji said kindly. Had he been standing there all this time? "Don't worry." He grinned. "Come up and look at Kia and Haku's puppets before we leave! They're really cute!"

_to be continued..._

Author's Notes: Because I wrote this fic before the _Fruits Basket_ manga was completed, I guessed wrong on a lot of stuff. So please don't leave me reviews about Akito or how the curse is actually broken, because I already know. Try to enjoy the fic as an alternate universe.

To tell the truth, although Momo and Momiji lit the first spark in my head, I really wrote most of this story for Kyo and his kids (the rest of it I wrote for Akito). I love Kyoru, and at the time I wrote this, I had not read any Kyoru fics (I'm sure there were and are plenty out there, but I always seemed to end up reading the Yukiru ones). I love writing kids, so Kia and Tohaku were very fun to create and work with. They didn't get carried away, either, though for some reason I didn't get along with them as much as I did with Daisuke. I noticed that the chapters that take place at Kyo and Tohru's house are the longest.

I used to hate Akito's guts, but the idea of writing him as a character I could like appealed to me. And I found, to my surprise, that it was quite easy for me to make Akito a good guy and still have him true to his nature. I now find anime!Akito fascinating, instead of purely repulsive. Akito and Momo - my perception of those two characters in particular really changed after I wrote this fic.

I also found it interesting to write about the Sohmas after they have, for the most part, overcome their issues. I did my best to have them retain their personalities, but I wanted them to be more well-adjusted. I especially had fun with Yuki and Kyo.

Oh yeah, and I apologize for killing off Shigure...I love him in the anime, but he creeps me out in the manga. This didn't occur to me until later, but I suppose his role in this fic is my revenge on manga-Shigure for being so sneaky.

Congratulations to the cat scene on being the very last scene to be edited. It's the only one that wasn't in final draft form when I started posting.


	4. Meet the Parents

_The Same Shade of Yellow_, by Raberba girl

**Chapter 4 - Meet the Parents**

"Momo! Where in the world have you been?!"

"I called you, Mama! I said I'd be eating dinner with Momiji-kun at Tohru and Kyo Sohma's house!"

"Momo, you gave me the impression it was just a quick, early meal and then you'd be straight back. Look, it's already past nine o'clock!"

Momo sighed. "Akito and Yuki Sohma were visiting, too, so Mrs. Sohma cooked a big fancy meal."

Momo's mother gasped. _"Akito Sohma!"_

"He's really very nice," Momiji put in. "I know he used to have a bad reputation, and he can be kind of impressive still when you meet him, but you moved out of the Estate in such a hurry that you never saw Akito after he got better."

Mama looked at Momiji. "Have I met you before?"

Momiji smiled so brilliantly that Momo could tell her mother was surprised and even a little pleased.

"We've run into each other a couple of times before," he said finally. "But I think it's a good thing you don't remember me."

Mama stared at him, trying to understand what he meant, but she kept getting distracted by that _smile_ of his.

"What's going on? Is Momo home?" Momo's father came to the door and stood beside his wife, looking out at Momo and Momiji. When he saw Momiji, his eyes widened in surprise, then softened into a welcoming look. "Hello, Momiji...-kun. I heard you were back from Germany."

"Good evening, sir." Momiji's eyes were shining joyously, and he kept his hands behind his back as if to restrain himself. "Yes, I had a wonderful time in Germany. It's...it's very good to see you again-- Mr. Sohma."

"Yes."

Momo did not understand the way Momiji and her father were looking - no, _smiling_ - at each other, as if they knew each other better than they were pretending to.

_'But when would my father and Momiji-kun ever have had the chance to become close?'_ Momo wondered.

Mama, with some difficulty, caught her husband's eye and gave him a significant, questioning look.

"Oh! Sweetheart, surely you remember Momiji-kun? You know, Tomo-san's son? He used to hang around my old office building sometimes."

"I-- _Oh!_" A light dawned on Mama's face. "Oh!" she said again, "Momiji _Sohma_! Of _course_ I remember you, darling. I am so sorry!" She moved as if to hug him, but Momiji, to Momo's surprise, deftly avoided the embrace and clasped Mama's hands instead.

"What do you think of me, now that I've grown up?" he asked with a charming smile.

"I think you used to be a lovely child, and I think that now you are a lovely young man," Mama said with a smile.

"Yay!" Momiji cheered, "Momo's mama likes me!"

They chatted for a few more minutes, and then Mama said, "Momiji-chan - I'm sorry, you're too old for '-chan' now, aren't you? - it's wonderful to see you again, but I'm afraid your parents will be worried about you. I know how you teenagers like to think you're so grown-up, but still--"

"I understand," Momiji said, saving her from having to say any more. "I'll go home straight away. Thank you for letting me see Momo." Mama seemed to have forgotten completely that she was upset with Momo for staying out late. "Momo," Momiji went on, "did you have fun?"

"Of course I did!" she exclaimed, without even having to think.

"Good! So did I. See you all later!" Momiji looked at Mama and kissed his fingers to her; then he waved a cheerful good-bye to Momo and turned to walk away.

"Come on in, Momo," Mama said encouragingly. Then she added, "What a charming, energetic young man! Even when he was a child, he always used to make me smile."

The door shut. Momo stood in the hallway and watched her parents drifting back to what they had been doing before she came home. Momo felt her hands clenching into fists at her sides. Then she came to a decision and whirled around to fling the door back open. She ran outside and pounded after the figure of Momiji down the street.

"Momiji-kun! Momiji-kun, wait!" He turned in surprise, then saw her. A smile lit up his face, and he waited for her to catch up. "Momiji-kun!" she gasped when she finally reached him. "Here." She fumbled for a pen out of her purse, then pulled out Momiji's hand and wrote her phone number on it. "There," she said, now hopelessly embarrassed but thinking she had better finish what she had started. "I like-- I liked meeting you today, Momiji-kun." Then she added hurriedly, "We're cousins, we should get to know each other better."

"I agree," he said happily, as he wrote Kagura's phone number on her hand. "That's a wonderful idea!"

"So," Momo continued, flustered, "So...um, call me, I guess, when you have time. And, I have school on Monday, but...um..." She trailed off.

"I still have stuff to take care of, what with moving in and getting settled at Kagura's and all, but how does Friday afternoon sound? Then you won't have to worry about school the next day!"

"Oh, yes. That's fine." _'Did we just arrange a date?'_ Momo thought in amazement.

She did not expect Momiji to laugh and kiss her cheek before he left. For several long seconds after he was gone, she stood and held her hand to her face, feeling silly but not bothering to hide her smile.

_to be continued..._

Author's Notes: I had to re-write the second half of this chapter. I didn't like writing about Momo and her parents; they always gave me a lot of trouble, and their chapters were the shortest. Momo's mother even switched personalities on me after I had finished writing the fic and before I started editing/revising it. I think the woman doesn't like me.

By the way, my use of the term "date" in this fic is modeled after the way it is used in _Fruits Basket_ - it doesn't necessarily mean the two are dating, it just means they're going out somewhere together. Really, this fic is NOT a Momiji/Momo romance.


	5. Secrets

_The Same Shade of Yellow_, by Raberba girl

**Chapter 5 - Secrets**

Author's Note: For those who don't know, 'Niisan (short for Oniisan) means "older brother." Also, Mine's name is pronounced "Mee-nay."

---------------------

All week Momo tried to follow Kagura's advice by getting up the nerve to go boldly up to Ronnie and ask him out. Something always seemed to go wrong, though - either she had bad timing, or he would misunderstand her, or there were too many people around, or she would lose her resolve at the last minute and say something different.

Once, when the conditions were absolutely perfect, Momo was _that_ close to blurting it out, but she ended up in a fit of giggling instead as she remembered Kagura flinging her beloved Daisuke across the restaurant. She had had to run away to find a safe place to laugh, and that was the end of that opportunity.

By the time Friday afternoon rolled around, Momo was feeling discouraged, so the sound of Momiji's voice on the phone lifted her spirits greatly.

_"Hey, hey, Momo! Hello, I haven't talked to you in ages!"_

"It sure feels that way," Momo grumbled, even though he had called her almost every day. "I never thought a week could be so long."

_"Ah! Sorry, Momo!"_

"No, it's all right! I just meant-- well, I missed you."

_"Yay! Momo missed me!"_ He sounded so happy that Momo forgot to be embarrassed. _"I missed you, too!"_

"So...when are you free?"

_"Any time! Every time I try to unpack and set up my stuff, Kagura wants to help and then ends up decorating everything herself, so I finally just decided to leave her to it. Oh! Did I tell you that one of my boxes got lost on the way, and they just found it, so it came in today and it's full of pictures! I've got to show you! My friends and professors and the campus, and also the city where I stayed and museums and lots of cool stuff!"_

With difficulty, Momo managed to break through the stream of chatter. "That's wonderful, Momiji-kun. I have some homework to do, but I'll try to finish it up fast, and we can go have dinner or watch a movie or something. I'll pay my share, of course," she added quickly.

_"Ah, no, Momo! _I'm_ taking you on a date, so _I_ get to pay!"_

"But Momiji-kun--"

_"Really! I was thinking we could go to this place close to Ha'ri's house, and there's a playground nearby, too!"_

"Playground?"

_"Eh, come on, Momo! Don't tell me you've grown out of playgrounds!"_

"But, I mean...you're an _adult_, and I'm in high school, doesn't it seem a little--"

_"You don't want to go?"_

It suddenly occurred to Momo that the sad, sad note in his voice might be deliberate. Even so, she found herself babbling, "Oh, no, no, no! We can go if you want to, I don't mind! It'll be fun, really."

_"Yay! We're going to the playground!"_

There was a sudden crash coming from Momiji's end of the line.

_"Yah! Kagura's in trouble! Call when you're ready to go, Momo!"_

The phone went dead in her hand. "Okay..." Momo murmured. She smiled and hung up.

-----------------------------------------------------------

The food was good, though Momo barely noticed it because she was so busy talking to Momiji. They talked about Ronnie for a while, then about Germany, and then about their visit to Tohru and Kyo's house. Momiji was already in love with Kia and Tohaku. He had left Japan before any of the children of his generation of Sohmas had been born.

"At least I didn't miss little Hiroshi, though. He's their first. Kisa's nine months already, just a few weeks to go. I bet Hiro's jumpy!" Momiji laughed.

"How long have they been married?"

"Just a year. They're still pretty young, but they've known each other all their lives. We all knew they were meant for each other even when they were little kids!"

"Who else is in your 'generation?'" Momo asked curiously

"Ah, let's see...Haru and Rin, and Aya - he has a little girl I haven't met yet, either -, and Kureno and Uo, and Ha'ri, and Ri-chan. Oh, and I have to say hello to Tohru's friend Hana, too!"

Momo sighed. "You all seem so happy. Everyone knows who they belong with, and there's such warmth and caring between all of you. I...I envy it, a little."

"Things weren't always this way," Momiji said quietly. Momo looked at him in surprise, since it was not often that he spoke with this kind of seriousness.

"Before...before the Sohma curse, as we call it, was broken, things were hard. Akito was sick, more than he is now, and he was put through so much torment and stress. He had no way to cope with it, so he took it out on the rest of us. There was a group of us who-- we were closer to him, I guess you could say, than other people were, and we all suffered a great deal together."

Momiji suddenly chuckled. "It's funny. There we all were, trapped from the day we were born in a cage of nightmares that none of us could find a way out of, no matter how hard we tried. And we did try, some of us very hard. None of us had ever seen that cage from the outside, so we didn't know what to do. And then Tohru came along."

"Tohru-san?"

"Yes. It was like falling dominoes. It started with Yuki and Kyo. Before, the two of them hated each other for real, and they couldn't meet without having a fight or at least an argument. And both of them were hurting. Yuki went through a lot when he was a child, and Kyo too. Tohru somehow - _healed_ them. Very slowly, over a long time, but what she did was amazing. It got so that Yuki, who used to be so cold and selfish, could open up, and become a warm person who truly cared about people. Same with Kyo. He finally found someone other than Kazuma who could accept him as a real person, exactly as he was. And one by one, all of us heard about Tohru and were drawn to her. Hiro has learned how to become a kinder person, who can show his feelings the way they are instead of having to disguise them. Kisa has become more confident and outspoken, and so has Ri-chan. Ri-chan doesn't freak out so much, and he is comfortable now as a man."

Momo decided not to comment.

"Kagura is calmer now, Ha'ri is not so sad, Black Haru hasn't shown up in years...and then there's Akito... If you had known this family ten years ago, and then left and come back again today, you wouldn't recognize us as the same people." Momiji laughed again. "And you know what? It all happened by accident! Tohru only ended up with us because her relatives decided to have their house remodeled."

Momo laughed politely, but then they both fell silent for a while. Momo played absently with her food, digesting what he had told her, and Momiji stared out the window with a little smile on his face and a distant look in his eyes.

Just when Momo was starting to get bored and wondering whether she should say something or not, Momiji shook himself and straightened up with a smile. "Sorry, Momo! I'm spacing out, aren't I. Are you finished eating? Come on, let's go to the playground!"

In no time Momo had been whisked away, and she was laughing as she ran to keep up with Momiji. He beat her to the playground, and kept running so he could make a flying leap onto the swings. "I bet I can swing higher than you can!"

"You're on," Momo laughed, and plunked into the swing next to him. They pumped their legs and laughed and talked, and were soon soaring high. "This is wonderful!" Momo once shouted on an upswing. "I feel like I'm flying! I haven't been on swings in so long!"

"Flying, flying!" Momiji chanted. "Bunnies don't fly!"

"What?"

"They hop!" Momiji suddenly dragged his feet and jumped out of the swing long before Momo thought it was safe. He hopped away in that speedy way of his, and Momo hurried to disentangle herself from the swing and run after him.

"You sure like rabbits, don't you?" she commented. She sat on the end of a slide, and was glad when Momiji stopped next to her.

"Yup! They're my favorite animal. And my zodiac sign, too!"

Momo smiled. "Really?"

"Mm-hm! What's your favorite animal?"

Momo thought about it. "I think...I like horses. Because they can run so fast, and they're so strong and beautiful."

"You're beautiful, Momo."

Momo stared at him. She noticed suddenly that his face was very close to hers. His lips had softened into a loving smile, gentler and not as dazzling as usual.

"You're beautiful and strong, Momo. You can take on the world, I know it. You don't have to keep running away from things you're afraid of."

Momo stared at him for a long moment. Then, to her horror, she suddenly knew she was going to cry. He had touched on something in her that was buried deep, something she thought she had not been ready to deal with yet. "Mom-iji-...kun..." Her throat felt tight, and there was a strange prickling at the bridge of her nose. She knew that she must not speak again until she had herself under control.

But Momiji kissed her cheek, and she lost it. She sat there sobbing tightly into her hands, hating herself and yet feeling relieved at the same time. He sat next to her and put a hand on her shoulder, not at all disturbed by her tears. "Momiji-kun..." She hesitated, then threw her arms around him, desperate for his closeness. She knew he would not mind.

"Ack! Momo, wait!"

There was a noise like a small explosion. Bright yellow smoke filled the air, and Momo sat there gasping in surprise, her tears damp and forgotten on her cheeks. She realized she was holding something warm and furry, and - oh, gross! - _alive_. She was about to throw it away from her, but as she raised it, the smoke cleared enough for her to see that it was a rabbit. Momo sat there and stared at it, too surprised to do anything more, and then the thing spoke.

"I'm sorry, Momo...I didn't mean for that to happen when you were trying to have a cry..."

_"Momiji-kun?!?!"_

"Don't throw me, please! Yes, it's me. Look, there are my clothes."

Momo put the rabbit, not very gently, on the ground, and then skipped back a few steps. As she moved, she felt something sliding off her - sure enough, it was Momiji's clothes, which had become draped over her when he disappeared.

"I don't get it. I don't understand. _Momiji-kun?_ Is that really you?"

"Momo! You're not mad at me, are you?" It was the beseeching voice that she could still not resist.

"Wh-why didn't you _tell_ me?!"

"Would you tell people if it was you?"

Momo took a few deep breaths, then stepped closer and knelt down. "Momiji-kun?"

"Yes?"

She could not be angry at Momiji or disgusted by him, he was just too cute. "Can I...pet you?"

The rabbit's ears twitched with amusement. "Of course!"

The soft yellow fur felt just as nice as it looked. Momo carefully picked him up again and cuddled him in her arms. "You're so cute!"

"Thank you!"

After a minute, Momo frowned. "But, what are we going to do with you, Momiji-kun? Are you like this forever?"

"Nuh-uh, don't worry! I'll change back eventually. You'd better keep holding me 'til we get to a safe place, though. I don't think you want to see me when I change back without my clothes."

"Ack! Yes. Where can I take you?"

"Ha'ri's house is close. We can go there and visit while we wait for me to transform again!"

"Okay." Momiji gave her directions, and she gathered up his clothes and set off. As they walked, Momo thought up several questions that she rather thought she had the right to have answered. "So, how does it work? You turn into a rabbit if you get hugged?"

"Well, it's like this. There's twelve signs of the zodiac, right? And there's also the Cat from the old story about the animals and the banquet. Every generation, a person in the Sohma family is born with a spirit of the zodiac - at least, that's what used to happen. Now that the curse has been broken, we're the last generation of _Juunishi_. That's Hatori's theory, and he's probably right, since no Dog was born to replace Shigure. Anyway, our problem is that whenever we're in a weak state or we're hugged by a person of the opposite sex, we turn into an animal of the zodiac!"

"Hm." Momo thought about this for a while. "Is that why Kagura-san never hugs Daisuke-san, then?"

"Yes. Kagura's the boar. The only men she can hug are the other zodiac members. That's the way it works, we don't know why. I can hug Kagura, Rin, and Kisa, but any other girl turns me into this."

"Does Daisuke-san know?"

"No. Only the immediate family of the _Juunishi_ know about it, of course, and also Kazuma, Hana, and a few others."

Momo thought some more. "Is Kyo-san a zodiac member?"

"He's the Cat!"

"So then...how do he and Tohru-san...?"

Momiji giggled. "Momo's not so sweet after all!"

Momo blushed madly. "Never mind!"

Momiji spent the rest of the walk telling Momo who was what animal, and funny stories about the trouble the _Juunishi_ had gotten into because of their transformations. By the time Momo was standing at the front door of Hatori Sohma's house, her face hurt from laughing so much. She managed to get herself under control so that she could knock on the door.

_"I'll get it!"_ a sing-song voice shouted from inside. It was so loud that Momo could hear it clearly, all the way on the other side of the door. She also thought that someone else said, _"NO, Aya, get back here!"_ but the next instant the door had been flung open and one of the most gorgeous men Momo had ever seen was leaning out of it. His white-blonde hair cascaded around him in long silvery sheets, his golden eyes were brimming with laughter and mischief, and his clothes were-- Momo cast about, and decided on the word "unbelievable" to describe them.

He grinned at the sight of her. "'Tori-san, your little mistress is here! Better send Mayu-chan out before she notices!"

Momo could only manage a shocked squeaking noise. The beautiful man in the doorway laughed heartily and swept Momo in before she could recover.

"Aya, Aya!" Momiji piped up from Momo's shoulder. "Hi!"

"Huh?" Ayame peered closer. "Ah! It's Momiji-kun! Momiji-kun, you are a rabbit!"

"I know!" They laughed loudly together. Ayame plucked the rabbit from Momo's shoulder. Momo had just started to turn in response to a movement to her left, but then a burst of smoke and a popping noise distracted her. She caught one glimpse of a very skin-covered Momiji in the surprised Ayame's arms. Momo shrieked, dropped the armful of clothes she was carrying, and ran.

Smack into someone. Her arms automatically came up and around the person to break her fall, and then Momo was cast into a second world of disorientation when another pop and more smoke clouded around her. Dimly, she heard Ayame laughing again in the distance.

"Aha ha ha ha! Your girlfriend is very clumsy, Momiji-kun. How cute! I can just see her in roller skates and a disco skirt!"

_'I'm going to get a headache,'_ Momo thought. Then the smoke cleared somewhat, and she could see a stunned-looking seahorse wiggling on the floor beside her, in the midst of a pile of clothes. "ACK! It's a seahorse! It's gonna drown! What do I do?! Doesn't Hatori Sohma transform into a seahorse? Oh no! He'll die!"

Footsteps approached, and someone with a brisk, take-charge voice sighed and said, "Don't freak out, it happens all the time." A woman with her hair tied back in an efficient ponytail stooped down and took the seahorse gently in her hands. "Poor Hatori. You never get a break, do you?"

Ayame laughed and skipped over to them. "Here, Mayu-chan, let me take him. Perhaps he will transform back soon and you will get a surprise treat!"

"I wouldn't trust you with anything, Ayame Sohma," Mayuko snapped, "much less my husband. Go back to the living room!"

"Of course, my Lady!" And then Ayame was gone, and Momo could think again.

Mayuko called over Momo's shoulder, "Hey, are you dressed yet?"

"Almost!" Momiji said cheerfully. Momo turned cautiously to see him buttoning his shirt.

"Momiji-kun, are you okay?"

"Sure! Are _you_ okay, Momo?"

"Um, yes...I think so...that man's laugh makes my head ring, though."

"You'll get used to it," Mayu said. "Mayuko Sohma. Pleased to meet you."

"Momo Sohma," Momo said shyly. For the first time in her life she consciously made a point to meet another person's eyes. Momo and Mayuko smiled at each other.

"You are a very pretty girl, just like your brother," Mayuko said. "And you seem nice, too, unlike Bunny over there."

"I'm nice, Mayu!" Momiji insisted. "It's just that people like you don't appreciate me!"

"And people like me can see straight through you. Now, go on in, both of you. I'll stay with Hatori until he's put to rights again, but in the meantime you can visit with Yuki-kun, Akito-san, and Aya."

"Oh, are Yuki-san and Akito-san here as well?" Momo asked in surprise.

"They live here. It's easier for Hatori to keep an eye on Akito-san when they're in the same house."

"Is it...healthy for Akito-san to be in such...loud surroundings?"

Mayuko snorted. "Aya's only visiting, thank goodness. Luckily he's got a wife and kid at home, otherwise he'd be all over Hatori all the time." Mayuko paused, and added in a gentler tone, "Shigure's death was hard on Aya. He needs Hatori, now even more than he used to." Then she shook herself. "Well, go on! I can't sit here holding Hatori forever, you know."

"Come on, Momo!" Momiji said, and dragged her through into the living room.

Yuki and Akito, kneeling around the table, looked up as they came in. Ayame was talking, and talking and talking and talking, so that no one could greet each other. However, the wonderful smiles that Yuki and Akito bestowed on Momo were so powerful that she felt bathed in welcoming warmth.

"'Niisan," Yuki finally said, quietly and not at all unkindly, "shut up."

Ayame laughed. "Ha ha ha! Perhaps it is true that I am talking too much! How rude of me! I am making it so that only I am talking, and no one else! Ha ha ha ha!"

"Aya, did you bring Mine and the little one with you?" Momiji asked quickly, before Ayame could go on.

"Ah, no, I did not! If I had known you were coming, I would have! You must see my daughter, Momiji-kun, she is the cutest little girl anywhere in the entire world! And I have designed her entire wardrobe myself, with help from darling Mine! Aya-chan's clothes are more beautiful than the clothes of other little girls; they are stylish and fashionable, and she has the full assortment! From princess outfits to school uniforms--"

Momo stared at him, amazed and rather respectful of the fact that Ayame could say all this in the time it usually took a normal person to say the first couple of sentences.

"--and other little girls love coming over, because they like to play _dress-up_ with Aya-chan's clothes! Ha ha ha! But even so they are not dress-up clothes, she wears them all the time, and everyone always says that she is so adorable--"

"You should not have gotten him started on Aya-chan," Yuki murmured to Momiji. "He _will_ talk about her until his voice gives out."

"He must love his daughter very much," Momo said softly. "He seems so proud of her." They said all this underneath Ayame's voice, which had not paused. Akito took a sip of tea.

There was a sound like a soft explosion from the front hallway, and some colored smoke drifted into the living room.

"Ah! 'Tori-san is back!" Ayame exclaimed, and jumped up to go help. Presently he came back, accompanied by Hatori (fully-clothed) and Mayuko.

"Mayuko-san, I had a question," Momo said quickly, before Mayuko even had her legs folded under her. Normally Momo would have waited for a more appropriate time and a more polite lead-up, but trying to say something while Ayame was in the room was like playing Red Light, Green Light. You had to snatch your chance while you had it. "Why did you say that I looked as pretty as my brother? I don't have a brother."

"Ah! I have a brother! His name is Yuki and he is sitting right here in this room at this very moment! For a long time we did not get along well - there was, shall we say, a "chasm" between us brothers - but then I decided that we must become closer, and regain what we allowed to be lost in our childhood! It took quite a while but Yuki finally opened up to me--"

Yuki stood up. "'Niisan," he said firmly, "why don't we spend some quality time together in, say, the kitchen? Or even better, outside?"

Whether Ayame picked up on the hint or not (Momo couldn't tell), he went along with Yuki willingly. "Do you see what I mean?" he was saying excitedly as they left the room. "Years ago Yuki would not have stood to be in the same room with me, but now he has suggested, and it was_ his own _idea, that we have some time together, so you see how he likes me now and would not hurl me into the lake like he used to--"

The door shut. The silence was loud with the echoes of Ayame's voice bouncing around in Momo's head, but soon the air seemed to calm and the quiet grew serene.

Akito took another sip of tea.

Hatori and Mayuko sighed and said in unison, "Thank you, Yuki."

Mayuko turned to Momo. "About what I said. What do you think?"

"What do I think?" Momo repeated, surprised. To her unease, she found that she kept sneaking glances at Momiji, who was kneeling in the place beside her. To stop herself doing that she looked up at the others, and realized that they were all watching her. "I..." She looked at Momiji again. She looked at him for a long time, as he smiled at her and sat patiently still. Then she looked away and said in a cardboard voice, "I don't have a brother. I'm an only child."

Her arms suddenly encircled her body and she bowed over, as if she was ill or in pain. It frightened her somewhat, because she had not meant to do it. She stared at the floor, but no one spoke or touched her. "It's kind of strange, though," Momo said finally. Her voice was low and apprehensive. "You would almost _think_ we were siblings, if you were a stranger and saw us together on the street. I suppose we do look somewhat like each other." A pause. "And...and we both have German mothers. Interesting coincidence." Still in that cardboard voice.

_'Plus,'_ Momo thought, her heart aching, _'There's just the way he makes me _feel_, like he loves me completely. He is looking out for me, and he wants to spend time with me. He's so _comfortable_, like someone I've known all my life. I already love him so much, but it's different from the way I feel about Ronnie.'_

Momo knew then, in her heart. She had probably known before, but this was the moment when things truly connected for her. She began to cry again, but these were angry, hissing tears. Still, no one spoke or comforted her. Momo did not lift her face - she did not want to see them all watching her. She shied away, ashamed, from what lovely Yuki and Akito surely must be thinking of her. And she did not dare to see the look on Momiji's face as he watched his sister suffer.

After a long time, when her tears had finally stilled, Akito's voice parted the silence as softly as silk would. "It is a painful thing, Momo," he said gently. His voice held such understanding as he went on, "You are so delicate, you should not have to bear such an ugly knowledge. It is best if you forget, hm? Erase this moment, make it as if it never happened, and you will be as happy as before."

Momo looked up at him sharply, and she saw his face. Though Akito's voice had been kind, his eyes held nothing but disdain.

It angered Momo. _'You think I'm weak, then?'_ she thought. _'Too _delicate_ to hear the truth? You're wrong.'_

Akito saw her anger. He smiled a little.

It sent a chill through Momo. The voice, the eyes - it was all deliberate. It was as if, having barely met her, Akito already knew her so well that he could do and say exactly the right things in order to make Momo react the way he wanted her to. And he didn't seem to mind that she knew. _'He has such power over me,'_ Momo thought. _'But even so...what he wants for me is only what I want for myself.'_ She looked at Akito as she straightened up and took Momiji's hand. Then she smiled at him, and she smiled at Momiji. Momiji, his eyes filled with tears, smiled back.

"Are you sure you want to hear this, Momo?" Akito said sweetly. "It will hurt."

Momo pressed her head to Momiji's. She smiled to see their mingled hair, so identical in color that up close, you couldn't tell it belonged to two different people.

"Momiji told me," Momo said slowly, "that all of you have gone through lots of painful things in your lives. If I can't...if I couldn't have shared anything else with my brother - I think I would like to share his pain, at least."

"I'm so glad, Momo," Momiji whispered. She squeezed his hand.

When Hatori spoke, he sounded tired. "It is difficult for the women who give birth to the _Juunishi_. Like many others before her, Momiji's mother - _your_ mother, Momo - could not embrace her child without it transforming to an animal in her arms. Different people deal with this differently, and your mother was one of those who could not accept it. The stress of having a zodiac child was too much for her. She would scream and cry for no reason. Though sometimes she did her best to be a good mother to her son, other times she could not control herself, and she would strike out at him."

Momo's heart wrenched for Momiji's sake. She wanted so badly to embrace him, to comfort him and herself, but all she could do was sit and feel him still and quiet beside her.

"It got to the point where there was no other choice. Your mother could not handle having a zodiac child. For the sake of her own health and sanity..." Hatori did not go on.

Momiji pulled back a little and smiled at his sister. "Don't be afraid, Momo. Ha'ri is a good person. But you can see how we would need his ability sometimes." Momo did not even try to understand. She just accepted it silently when Hatori said,

"I erased her memories of her son. Her husband and Momiji have to pretend that Momiji is the child of another Sohma. Your mother has only a daughter, now."

For a long time they were all silent. Then Momo took in a breath to speak. "Akito-san," she said, "you were right. It hurts." She and Momiji leaned against each other as she continued, "It hurts that, because of Mama, I was never able to know the brother who loves me so much. It hurts that my mother could accept me so easily, and reject another child who was just as good as me, even better."

Momiji smiled at her. "I'm glad you didn't reject me, Momo. But don't be hard on Mama."

"Stop _smiling_ like that!" Momo suddenly shouted. "You're always, always smiling! Don't you hate her? Don't you hate her, for what she did to you? She completely cut you out of her life! She hated you! And you're still-- You still act like you love her as much as--" _'As much as I do.'_ "But I hate her, too! How could she do this to you?!"

"Will it get you anywhere?" Akito said. Momo stared at him. "Will it get you anywhere, hating your mother because you have found her in a moment of great weakness?"

"If I let what Mama did bother me," Momiji said softly, "then it would not have made me so happy to watch over you. I loved it whenever I saw you or Mama. I would think, _'Because of what I gave up, Mama is happy now;'_ or, _'My sister is so beautiful and kind, she will do for Mama what I could not.'_ Every time I saw Mama, it was like getting a present. That made me happier than I would have been if, instead of getting a present when I saw her, I got something sharp that would cut me."

Momo saw what Akito and Momiji were telling her. It was no use hating Mama, because she would never know and it would only make Momo unhappy. Instead, accepting what happiness could be found was better for everyone, even the ones who had been wronged.

Momo sighed. "I'm sorry. It's just-- All this, it's too soon. I don't know what to think about it."

Momiji grinned. "Talk to Tohru. Tohru's good at helping people like that - she's happily married to Kyo, after all, and she stuck with us even when she found out how crazy we all are."

Momo smiled back. "Thank you, Momiji-kun." Then she blushed. "I mean...Oniisan."

Momiji laughed, delighted.

Akito looked sadly into his empty cup, then at Mayuko. She got up, kissed his forehead, and went to get him some more tea.

_to be continued..._

Author's Notes: Ayame is SUPER-FUN to write. I love him.

Because I wrote this fic before actually seeing some of the characters developed in the manga, I was hesitant to write about Mayuko, since I barely knew her. I think she turned out okay, though. The faint glimpse I got of her in the manga left a very strong impression, thankfully, so I was more sure of Mayu than I was of, for example, Rin and Kureno.

The scene where Momo discovers Momiji's true identity also had to be practically re-written. But that's all right, I love writing Akito.


	6. Momo and Her Mother

_The Same Shade of Yellow_, by Raberba girl

**Chapter 6 - Momo and Her Mother**

This time, Momiji did not come to the house with her. He simply kissed her good-bye and walked away, and she continued up the front walk to the door. Mama was still upset, though.

"Momo, it's late again. I don't like how you spend so much time with Momiji-kun. He's a nice boy, but still, you barely even know him!"

Momo felt a lump coming into her throat, though all she said was, "We met a few times when I was little, Mama. He's been away for a while, and we're catching up on all the time we've been apart."

"Still, you can't have been very close. Not enough to warrant this kind of attention. Or are you seeing him in a more romantic light, now?"

"_Mama!_ That's disgusting!" Momo had forgotten for a second that her mother did not know how closely Momo and Momiji were related.

"He is very good-looking, I suppose, but don't you think he's a bit childish for his age? You should find a more mature young man, one who can take care of you properly when you get married."

Momo covered her face with her hands. "I can't believe we are talking about this."

Momo's father came in. "Welcome home, Momo." He paused and looked at her. "Were you out with Momiji-kun again?"

"Yes. We talked about a lot of things." While staring at Papa, Momo said pointedly, "We thought it was funny how alike we look. And really, Momiji-kun is also the very image of Mama."

"So...he told you, then?" Papa said after a moment.

"He didn't _need_ to tell me," Momo spat out with more vehemence than she had intended. "It rather spoke for itself, didn't it?"

"What are you talking about?" her mother demanded.

"Nothing, nothing," Papa said soothingly. "What are we having for dinner? It smells delicious!"

Mama sniffed. "You and I are the only ones who will be able to enjoy it, I'm afraid. Momo, since she apparently has been well-fed already, will be going to her room and staying there for the rest of the night."

Momo, her face burning with anger, went to her room without a word. She jerked the door shut, threw herself onto her bed, and entertained angry thoughts. An hour or so later, when she had tired of that and was doodling pictures of rabbits, there was a soft knock on the door and her mother came in.

"Momo?" Momo stared at the paper without seeing it as Mama sat down on the bed. "Momo...I'm sorry. I think I've been too harsh with you about...about Momiji-kun. I know he's a nice boy. You'll do well with him."

"Mama, please stop thinking like that! Momiji-kun is just a good friend."

"All right. I understand, Momo."

_'Exactly _what_ is it you think you understand?'_ Momo thought, but she didn't say anything. It was quiet for a while, and her mother started rubbing her back soothingly.

"Mama?"

"Yes?"

"Did you...have you ever - wanted another child?"

Mama laughed in surprise. "Another child? Well, I wouldn't have minded more, but I'm just fine having only you." She bent and kissed Momo's head.

"But, if you _did_ have another child," Momo persisted, "would you be happy? Would you want him?"

"Well, of course I would! Why are you asking this, Momo?"

"What if there was something strange about him? Like, he had - a deformity, or something. Would you still want him then?"

Mama sighed. "Is there a reason for these questions?"

"Mama, please!"

"All right, all right. Well...it would be hard. But even so, there is something precious about the child from your own body. No matter what's wrong with it, it is still your flesh and blood; you can't just turn your back on it."

Momo felt tears running down her face. "So why did you?" she whispered.

"What was that, darling?"

"Why _did_ you?! Why did you turn your back on him?"

"What--"

"Momiji-kun! You rejected your own son, you had him erased as if he never even existed!"

"Momo, what are you talking about?" Mama exclaimed in astonishment.

"He loves you so much! Every time he sees you, it brings a smile to his face! And yet you say hurtful things, like telling him to go home to parents who are worried about him! You _erased_ him! You-- It's like you _killed_ him! Your own son! And he still loves you so much!" Momo was on the verge of not saying it, because she knew it was not true, but then she plunged in recklessly and screamed, "He loves you more than I do! I don't like you at all! I hate a mama who would do such a thing to her own child!"

Mama looked as if she had been slapped. "M-Momo...how could you - _say_ such things to me?" Mama gasped, sounding helpless and close to tears. Momo was suddenly horrified at what she had done.

Papa came into the room. "What is going on here?"

Momo ran out of the room and out of the house, and by the time she slowed down, she was a long way from home. She couldn't bear to face either of her parents, so she stood still and forced herself to stop crying, at least long enough so that she could call Momiji.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Kagura's apartment was small and neat, though here and there the walls were scarred by nicks, gashes, and spots of paint. Momiji ushered Momo in and closed the door. Kagura, sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea, looked up in surprise. "Momo-chan! What are you doing here this late?"

"Kagura, is it all right if Momo stays with us for the night?" Momiji asked.

"Is that what you called about, Momo-chan?" Kagura asked.

"Yes."

Kagura's eyes narrowed. "What is it? Did someone hurt you? I'll rip his guts out!"

It wasn't just talk. Momo knew that Kagura really could and would do what she said. "No, no! I'm all right, I just...um, got in a fight with my parents."

"Oh." Kagura relaxed, and her face softened into a smile. "You're a teenager, that's natural. Everyone has times when they don't get along with their parents."

"If you don't mind, I'd like to go to bed now," Momo said.

"Of course! You can have Momiji's bed, and he'll sleep on the couch."

"Hey!" Momiji whined. "Thanks for asking!"

"I can sleep on the couch--" Momo started.

"Nuh-uh, Momo, I was just kidding! You can sleep in my bed!"

"Here, Momo-chan," Kagura offered, "I'll show you the bathroom."

Later, after Momo had gotten into bed, Momiji came in to check on her, and to say good night.

"Oniisan..." Momo caught his hand. She pulled him close and whispered shakily, "Oniisan, I said nasty things to Mama. I feel horrible, but...I still can't - forgive her. I'm the worst." Momo felt too disgusted with herself to cry.

Momiji kissed her forehead. Momo expected an encouraging, moralistic speech, but all he said was, "We still love you, Momo." Then he smiled at her and left.

As Momo lay half-asleep in the darkness of the room, she could hear Momiji's voice drifting through the door. He was talking on the phone.

_"Hello? Hi, Papa, it's me. Yes, Momo's staying with me and Kagura tonight. Yes! Oh, of course not! Yes, yes. Bye, Papa. I love you."_

_to be continued..._

Author's Notes: Ugh, I hate this chapter. Momo's mom seems all sweet and loving on the outside, but I think she doesn't like me. She just _won't_ let me get inside her head or something. This chapter probably gave me more headache than the rest of them put together, and I even had to go so far as to consult my sister and my mother for help.


	7. Momo's Very Long, Event Filled Day

_The Same Shade of Yellow_, by Raberba girl

**Chapter 7 - Momo's Very Long, Event-Filled Day**

Author's Note: For those who don't know, 'Neesan (short for Oneesan) means "older sister."

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The next morning, Momo awoke to a terrible smell of burned food filling the apartment. When she got out of bed and went to investigate, Kagura was hopping around the kitchen in distress, carrying a blackened pan full of unrecognizable black crackly stuff.

"Good morning, Momo!" Momiji said cheerfully. He was on his knees, cleaning up the mess from a fire extinguisher that covered the stove and part of the floor.

"I thought I would make you breakfast," Kagura wailed, "but the stove seems to be broken!"

"She put the heat on too high and then forgot to watch it," Momiji stage-whispered to Momo.

"I DID NOT!" Kagura roared. Suddenly, she looked very frightening.

"Gotta run, Momo!" Momiji laughed, and fled. Kagura chased him around and around the apartment, yelling the whole way. On his next circuit, Momiji threw at Momo, "There's bread and stuff in the pantry! Put something together, will you?"

Momo made a cold breakfast for them all, which they sat down to eat after half-asleep neighbors came to the door to complain about the noise. Kagura apologized so tearfully and charmingly that they went away placated, and by then she seemed have forgotten that she was peeved at Momiji.

"Hey, hey, Momo," Momiji said eagerly as they ate, "what did you think of Aya?"

Momo thought about it. "I liked him," she said. Then she chuckled. "Though I think I like him better when he's not actually here. He can be...a bit much."

"I asked because I was thinking of taking you to Aya's store today!"

"His store?"

"Mm-hm! He sells costumes and stuff for maids, nurses, stewardesses, that kind of thing!"

"Wow. That sounds interesting."

"Momiji wants to cheer you up," Kagura said. "And it's easy to feel happy around Aya."

"He just doesn't give you _time_ to be unhappy," Momiji laughed.

"It's because he seems so sure of himself," Momo said, "like nothing can go wrong in his world. That feeling spills over onto those around him. I...I want that self-confidence, that strength of character. I really admire him. From afar," she added with a grin.

Momo did not have time, however, to see much of Ayame's store. When she and Momiji got there, the place was in chaos. Employees were milling around, appearing to be searching for something. Ayame and a cute woman with curly brown hair were rushing about, shouting frantically and getting in everybody's way.

"Aya! What's wrong, what happened?" Momiji asked, running up to them.

Ayame skidded to a halt, grabbed Momiji by the shoulders, and shook him. "Momiji-kun! It is terrible! It is a catastrophe! It is the worst thing that can ever have happened! I am in a panic! We don't know what to do!"

"What, what?" Momiji gasped, freeing himself with an effort.

Ayame caught sight of Momo, and his face broke into a smile. "Oh, Momo-san! You have not yet met my wife." The curly-haired woman stopped her panicked shouting and running, and came over to stand next to Ayame with a smile. "This is Mine! Is she not the cutest wife ever?"

"Hello, Momo-san!" Mine said enthusiastically. She waved, and Momo shyly waved back.

"But, what happened? Why are you all so upset?" Momiji wanted to know.

"Ah!" Immediately Ayame was back in distress mode. "It is terrible! My world has been rocked to its very foundations!"

"But _what is it_?" Momiji asked, as close to exasperation as Momo had ever seen him.

Ayame and Mine put their heads together and shouted, _"Aya-chan is missing!!!!!!"_

There was a silence. Then the two of them began to cry.

"Here, here," Momiji said, handing them a handkerchief. Ayame tearfully commented that it would look better with a ruffled trim, before using it and handing it to Mine. She set it aside and pulled out her own.

"I'll go search outside," Momo said.

"Good idea, Momo! I'll take care of things here," Momiji said. "Let's all exchange phone numbers, so we can keep in contact."

The four of them did so, and then Momo ran back outside. Behind her, she could hear Momiji starting to organize everyone efficiently. Momo ran a few blocks in one direction, calling Aya's name and looking into buildings she passed. Ordinarily she would have been too shy to do things like stop totally random strangers and ask if they had seen a little girl wandering around by herself, but now she was too preoccupied with worry and urgency to be able to listen to her inhibitions.

Feeling desperate and panicked, Momo agonized over whether she had gone far enough or not. What if Aya had wandered in the opposite direction? What if it was hopeless because Aya had been kidnapped, and was now beyond anyone's reach? Momo shivered and swerved around. She ran back the way she had come, panting harder than she had after playing Fruits Basket. She passed Ayame's shop again and ran on, looking everywhere and stopping people on the street.

Just when she was starting to feel discouraged enough to want to stop looking and call Momiji, Momo caught sight of a small park across the street. _'Kids like parks,'_ she thought, and she dashed across to it.

There were only two people there. A woman sat unmoving on a swing, with her long black hair braided over one shoulder and a dark cloak billowing around her, despite the softness of the breeze. Momo stopped and stared at the woman, so fascinated that she forgot for a moment what she was doing. The woman turned her head and stared back at Momo. Her skin was pale, as if she did not go outside much, and her eyes were dark and gripping. She did not speak.

"Miss Hana, Miss Hana! Look what I found!"

Momo whipped her head around. The second person in the park, a tiny little girl with two silvery, curly pigtails and golden-brown eyes, dashed up to the woman on the swing. Her clothes, though beautiful, were quite outlandish, the theme seeming to be silk and black-and-white Chinese-styled markings. It had to be little Aya; there was no mistaking the offspring of Ayame.

The little girl stopped in front of the woman on the swing and carefully held out her cupped hands. "It's a frog! It's so cute!"

"Yes. Very cute," the woman said. Her voice was still and flat, and she did not smile, but Aya was delighted.

"Yay! Miss Hana likes my frog!"

The woman turned her eyes slowly back to Momo. "And who are you?"

"Um...oh, I'm, ah, Momo. Momo Sohma."

"Another Sohma," the woman murmured. "I am Hanajima." There was a moment of silence, broken only by Aya skipping around and humming. "Your waves," the woman said suddenly. "They resemble those of the rabbit."

Waves? "Er...Momiji Sohma is my brother."

"Ah. The mystery is explained." There was a small silence.

Then Momo shook herself. "Ayame-san and Mine-san are going crazy! Aya-chan has been missing, I don't know for how long; how come you never called anyone?"

Hana's gaze was penetrating. "Should I have?"

And of course there was nothing to say to that. Momo tried to smile, then moved a few feet away so she could call Momiji. As she hung up, she felt a tug at her shirt.

"Missie, Missie! Look at my frog! Look how cute he is!"

Momo smiled at Aya, trying not to edge away too conspicuously. "He's, um, wonderful, Aya-chan. Now, why don't we let him go? I'm sure he has parents that must be looking for him."

"Ah! Yes, yes, you're right! Off you go, little froggy!" Aya dropped the frog on the ground, not very gently, and squatted next to it. "Come on, come on, froggy! Mommy and Daddy are looking for you!" She prodded it with an impatient finger. Momo shuddered.

"Aaaaaaaayyyyyyaaaaaaa-chaaaaaaan!!!!!!!!!" It was Ayame in the distance, running towards the park as fast as he could.

Aya leaped to her feet with a delighted smile on her face. "Daddy!" She rushed off. Ayame flung himself to his knees, threw his arms around Aya, and promptly poofed into a snake. No one seemed to particularly care. Aya danced around and laughed with the snake in her arms until Mine came dashing up. She scooped up both daughter and snake, and showered them with kisses.

"Aya-chan! We missed you! You are so cute!"

"You too, Mommy!"

All three of them posed, and the ones with fingers made "victory" signs. Then they laughed out loud, apparently thinking this to be a great joke.

"Well, at least that ended well," Momiji said happily from beside Momo. He looked at her and winked. "Turns out Aya left the front door open. Aya-chan must have wandered out on her own. It's a good thing Hana found her."

"Yes." The voice came from right next to Momo's shoulder, and she jumped in surprise. Hana's approach had been soundless. "I was passing by and felt the distressed waves of a lost child. Ayame-san."

The name was spoken very softly, but Ayame immediately stopped laughing and turned his attention to Hana.

"You ought to watch this child more closely. She is too cute to lose."

"Aha ha ha ha ha! You are right about that! Come, Aya-chan, I will buy you an ice cream cone! And I have had a clever idea: Mine will put sprinkles and candies on it until it is almost as cute as you!"

Aya and Mine cheered together. The family wandered away, looking as if none of them had a care in the world. Not a trace of their earlier worry remained, and Momo smiled as she watched them go.

"Oniisan, I think finding Aya-chan cheered me up more than looking at dresses ever could have."

"Good! I'm glad, Momo!" Momiji took her hand and swung it, and Momo knew now that he made these sorts of gestures to make up for not being able to hug her. Momiji turned to Hana. "So, Hana! What are you doing in this part of town?"

"I was passing by on my way to Tohru-kun's house."

"Ah! Are you going to visit her?"

"Yes. I am. I have not seen her in a long time."

"Um, if you don't mind, Hanajima-san," Momo asked, "could I come with you?"

"Yes, yes! Me too!"

"I do not mind."

Momiji cheered. They set off, with Momiji talking animatedly, Momo listening to him and smiling, and Hana staring straight ahead with an unreadable expression. Despite Hana's quiet spookiness, Momo thought that she liked the shadowy woman. Hana did not seem bothered by people who were more energetic than she was.

On the contrary, she had managed to convey, despite the monotone and the silence, that she was pleased with Aya's frog, and that she did not mind Momiji's chatter. There was a subtle expressiveness about Hana that did not come from her face or her voice, and Momo was impressed.

The first thing they saw as they approached the house was Kia, racing along after Tohaku and shouting. "Haku! Haku, come back here you little brat, that's _mine_!"

"Nyah, nyah! It's only yours if you catch it!"

"I'm coming for you, Kia-chan!" Momiji shouted, and chased after them. Kia squealed and put on speed. Tohaku saw Kia pounding up behind him, and he yelled with fear and glee at the prospect of being caught.

Kazuma came out of the house. "What's this, Kia, Tohaku? You're running from a little rabbit?"

"Grandfather!" Tohaku veered and made for Kazuma. "Grandfather, 'Neesan's chasing me!"

"He took my cat plushie that Mama made for me!"

Kazuma put a hand out to restrain his grandchildren, who danced about on either side of him, yelling at each other.

Kyo came ambling out of the house with a mock-annoyed look on his face. "Oi! What's all the noise out here?"

"Daddy, Daddy, he took my kitty!"

"She won't let me play with it!"

Kyo pretended to glare at them. "It'll be _my_ kitty if you two don't settle down and find some manners. Did either of you notice we had guests?"

Kia and Tohaku immediately ran to stand in front of Momo, Hana, and Momiji. "Welcome to our home," they said in unison, bowing as politely as angels.

Momo smiled at them. "Hello again."

"Hi!" Momiji said with a wave, and Tohaku smiled and waved back.

Kia stared at Hana. "You haven't been here in a long time."

"I know," Hana replied. They stood looking at each other for a long moment, and then Hana, still not smiling, held out her hand. Kia took it happily, and they went into the house. Kazuma said hello to Momo and Momiji, then went back inside as well.

Kyo was on one knee in front of Tohaku, talking to him quietly and holding out his hand. Tohaku sheepishly handed him the cat toy, and Kyo smiled, patted his son's shoulder, and stood up.

"Hey, brat."

"Hi, Kyon-Kyon!"

"Don't call me that." He nodded politely at Momo. "Come on inside. Tohru will be glad to see you two again."

"Mama's helping us make shirts!" Tohaku said as they went inside. "She made part of Daddy's because he spilled paint and got mad, his has a cat on it, and so does 'Neesan's, only 'Neesan didn't finish 'cause she wanted to play with her kitty, but I took it so she chased me; hey, do you want to make shirts, too?"

"Oh, yes, that sounds fun!" said Momiji.

"All right, if you show me how," said Momo.

They found Tohru in the living room, kneeling on top of spread-out newspapers. Tubes of fabric paint were scattered everywhere, and several shirts lay on the floor, stretched out over cardboard. Kazuma was quietly working on one, and Tohru had been bent over another. She straightened up and smiled when she saw them all come in.

"Oh, Momiji-kun, Momo-san! Hello! Welcome."

"Tohru!" Momiji said happily, and Momo smiled and nodded. Momiji skipped across the room and plunked down next to Tohru, briefly nuzzling her shoulder. "Can I make a shirt, Tohru, please?"

"Oh, yes, of course. I think there's some extras in the bedroom, I'll go get them."

Momo was looking at a finished shirt that had been spread out to dry. A picture of an orange cat was painted on it, as well as the slightly crooked letters K-Y-O-U underneath the Japanese characters that formed his name. Orange paint had been spilled in a couple of places, and smeared when someone had tried unsuccessfully to repair the damage. "This is really cool-looking."

"Yeah. Kind of babyish, though," Kyo said. Momo looked up at him, and saw that he was blushing a little.

"Oh, I don't think it's babyish at all! It's really neat, especially since you're the Cat and all." Momo put a hand to her mouth, hoping it was okay to have said that.

Kyo only looked at her in mild surprise. "Oh, you know about the zodiac thing? I thought Momiji said you didn't."

"I just found out yesterday. I...hugged Momiji-kun when we were on a date."

Kyo chuckled. "Bet you got more than you bargained for."

Momo shook her head, laughing.

"Are you okay with it?" he wanted to know.

"Yes. It took me a few minutes to get used to the idea, but Momiji-kun is so sweet. I don't find myself disliking him or even looking at him differently, just because I know he can turn into a rabbit."

"That's good." He paused, and looked away before he spoke again. "I think you're good at accepting other people. Like Tohru, you know."

"Oh! I wouldn't go that far," Momo exclaimed, caught off-guard by the unexpected compliment. But it did feel nice, for someone to tell her that.

Tohru, Momiji, and Tohaku came back down the hallway with the extra shirts, talking and laughing with each other.

"Do Kia and Tohaku know about the curse?" Momo asked Kyo quietly.

"They know I turn into a cat," Kyo said. "That was unavoidable." He smiled a little sadly, perhaps thinking about how he could never hold his daughter without transforming. "And they know that the others turn into animals, too, but we're waiting for them to grow up a little before we tell them about...the darker side of the curse, you could say."

Momo said wisely, "You mean how Akito-san was sick, and the rest of you all suffered a lot."

Kyo hesitated, but then nodded his head. "Yeah, something like that," he mumbled.

Tohru came up to Momo, holding out a plain white shirt. "Here, Momo-san. Would you like to make one?"

"Yes! Thank you." Momo took it and found a comfortable place to sit down. Hana and Kia had come back and were sitting with their own shirts. Kia was chattering, and Hana, though she seemed intent on her work, had the air of someone listening with interest.

Momo carefully drew the outline of a horse in pencil, then went back over it with paint. It looked a little misshapen, and the head was too small for the rest of the body, but she liked it. She started filling it in with a golden-yellow coat, like the color of her brother's hair. After a little thought, she added a field of grass and tiny blossoms at the bottom.

"Hey, Tohru-san," Momo asked once as she worked, "how did you find out about the hugging thing? When did you first see Kyo-san transform?"

"Don't tell her!" Kyo yelled as both Tohru and Kazuma started laughing.

"Ooh, tell us, tell us!" Kia and Tohaku cried. It was plain that they loved this story, and that it was told often.

"Well, it was when I first moved into this house," Tohru started.

"I'm not listening!" Kyo growled, and covered his ears. Tohru pulled at him until he was lying with his head on her lap, and stroked his hair as she talked. He relaxed into her touch, grumbling under his breath.

"I had already met Shigure-san and Yuki-kun, and they had kindly offered to let me live with them for a while, until the remodeling on my grandfather's house was finished. Yuki-kun was showing me the room I would stay in. Then I heard these creaking and scratching noises from the ceiling--"

"And POW! Daddy came _flying_ through the roof!" Tohaku interrupted. Kazuma smiled, tousled his hair, and gestured for him to be quiet and let his mother finish.

"Well, I was very shocked at first," Tohru went on. "This strange orange-headed boy had just come out of nowhere and was standing there, insulting Yuki-kun and getting ready to beat him up." Kyo grumbled louder and waved his feet in the air restlessly. "I thought at first that Yuki-kun would be hurt - I didn't know at the time that, well, that Yuki-kun could take care of himself--"

"(mumble) rat...(mumble, mumble) Yuki..." Kyo said to Tohru's knee.

"--so when Kyo started to charge, I had to stop him. I ran up and grabbed him from behind--"

"Daddy didn't see her coming!" Tohaku said gleefully.

"Yeah, he didn't even notice she was there!" Kia piped up. Kyo growled, and the kids giggled naughtily.

"--and then there was a popping noise, and all this smoke! I couldn't _think_ what had happened at first, and suddenly I was holding a cat and the orange-headed boy was gone, but then I saw his clothes on the floor and I realized that, somehow, I had caused him to transform!" Tohaku and Kia were giggling uncontrollably by now, though they had their hands pressed against their mouths to stifle it.

"I was panicked and didn't know what to do," Tohru continued. "I thought I had hurt him, and I didn't notice that there were loose boards still up by the ceiling. One of them fell and hit me on the head, and I lost my balance and stumbled into Yuki-kun and Shigure-san." By now everyone except Hana (she simply kept painting busily as if she did not notice anything) was laughing, though they kept quiet so as not to interfere with the story.

"And of course, the two of them transformed as well. So there I was, with an armful of animals and a pile of empty clothes, and it took me a while to finally calm down and listen to the explanation."

"I wish I could have been there!" Momiji laughed. "That must have been so funny!"

"Yeah, it was real hilarious," Kyo retorted sarcastically. The corners of his lips were twitching, though, and Momo saw that he was trying to hide a smile.

After that they passed away much of the time telling stories, such as when Tohru first met Momiji and the other members of the zodiac.

"Wow, Momo, that's good!" Momiji had come up beside her. "Do you want me to write your name in English?"

"Yes, please." She watched, fascinated, as he formed the letters M-O-M-O. "Thank you, Oniisan." She smiled up at him, and he beamed back at her. It was obvious how much he loved hearing her call him that. "Can I see your shirt?" Momo asked.

"Of course!" Momiji showed her. It was a rabbit, of course, surrounded by lots of grass and big, colorful flowers, and a large sun up near the right shoulder.

"It's so cute, Oniisan!"

"Thank you!" He beamed at her.

"All those flowers make it look fruity," Kyo snorted, looking over their shoulders.

"Do you want me to paint flowers on your shirt, Kyo?" Momiji asked innocently.

"NO!"

"Tohru-san, may I see your shirt?" Momo asked. Tohru had finished painting, and was now trying to clean up the living room.

"Oh, yes! Here." Tohru turned the drying shirt around so Momo could see. There was a large riceball with a happy face on the front, surrounded by the small cartoonish heads of all the zodiac animals (plus the Cat).

"Oh, it's adorable! I love it!"

"Thank you so much, Momo-san. I like yours, too!"

Momo looked curiously over at Hana's shirt, and got a little jolt. Hana had covered the previously-white shirt with black paint all over, except a little space on the front in which something like a carnivorous flower was depicted.

"That's...very interesting, Hanajima-san."

"Thank you," Hana said expressionlessly.

"Oh, my! It's nearly lunchtime!" Tohru exclaimed in surprise. "I'll go warm something up. Hana-chan, Momiji-kun, Momo-san, are you all staying to eat?"

"Of course," Hana and Momiji said together (though Momiji's had an exclamation mark at the end of it).

Momo was starving, and she sat down gratefully to eat with the rest. The food, though not nearly as fancy as the last meal she had eaten here, was just as delicious. Momiji talked spiritedly as they ate, mostly about their adventure that morning with Aya.

"Oh, I'm so glad you found her!" Tohru gasped. "It takes my breath away, thinking of poor, sweet Aya-chan missing like that. Mine-san and Ayame-san must have been so terribly worried!"

"They were," Momo said, "but you should have seen them once they got Aya back again. They were so happy, like they'd never been worried or anxious. They didn't tell her off for wandering out, or blame Ayame-san for leaving the door open, or anything like that. They were just so, so happy that Aya was safe and sound."

"Ah, stupid Ayame probably just forgot he'd lost the kid in the first place," Kyo snorted.

"Daddy," Kia piped up, "can you please leave the door open so we can get lost, too?"

"No!"

"Daddy, _please_?" Tohaku begged, "it'll be fun!"

"How is that _fun_?!"

"Don't worry, Daddy," Kia said reassuringly, "We won't be lost for a _long_ time, just until I get a baseball cap."

"Oh, no, not this again," Kyo groaned.

"What is it?" Momiji asked curiously.

"Some dumb story Tohru keeps telling them about the stupid Rat."

"Ooh, ooh, I'll show you!" Kia shouted, and raced away upstairs. Tohaku jumped up and ran after her. Tohru followed as well, probably to remind them how impolite it was to leave the table before everyone else was finished eating.

"What story?" Momiji wanted to know.

"None of your business, brat."

"When Tohru was a child," Kazuma supplied calmly, "she ran away from some bullies and got lost--"

"Shishou!"

"--but young Yuki led her back home and gave her a red baseball cap that he had been wearing. The cap, coincidentally, had once belonged to Kyo. Tohru still treasures that hat--"

"Thanks for reminding me, I've been meaning to burn that thing," Kyo mumbled.

"--and when she told the kids that story, they both begged to have a red baseball cap, so Kyo went out and bought one for each."

"I did not!"

"Yes you did. Tohru woke up that night when you were sneaking back in through the window."

"Well, it's not _my_ fault the cat decided to be sleeping right where I put my foot!"

Momo giggled. "Where _are_ the cats, anyway?" she asked.

"Tohru locked 'em up while we were painting," Kyo explained, "and we had to leave them there for lunch, too. Those things are _annoying_ whenever there's food around."

"So anyway," Kazuma went on, but just then the kids came crashing back downstairs.

"Sorry, sorry for leaving the table and it was rude, please forgive me," Kia said with an impatient bow, "but look, look!" She thrust the red hat she was holding at Momiji. "See, _this_ just appeared on my pillow one morning--"

"Look, look," Tohaku interrupted, "Mama sewed a little kitty and a little mousie on mine!"

"It's cute, Tohaku-chan," Momo smiled.

"Be _quiet_, Haku, I'm _talking_!" Kia exclaimed in outrage. "_Anyway_, I looove my hat, but I really want to get lost someday like Mama so I can get a _real_ hat!"

"What do you call this, a fake hat?" Kyo said indignantly. He flicked the edge of Kia's baseball cap, and she giggled.

"Oh Daddy, you know what I mean." She kissed him on the nose (which seemed to placate him somewhat), put the hat on her head, sat down, and finished her meal.

When everyone was done, Momo offered to help Tohru clear up. They gathered all the dirty dishes and headed for the kitchen with them, leaving the others to listen to the kids chattering about their favorite TV show. Momo could still hear their voices through the sound of running water.

"I found out about the curse," Momo said, after a minute of silently trying out different ways of bringing up the subject.

"Oh, you did?" Tohru said, sounding pleased. "That's wonderful! It's easier for them when other people know, because then they don't have to hide so much. They can relax."

"Yes, I suppose that's true," Momo said thoughtfully. She looked at Tohru and smiled. Momo liked the way Tohru spoke of the _Juunishi_ with such concern and love, like she was looking after them.

"Tohru!" Kyo stuck his head into the kitchen. "The kids are getting restless, so we're all going out to play."

"All right. We'll be there soon," Tohru said cheerfully. Kyo withdrew, and within a few minutes the house had gone quiet and peaceful. "So," Tohru went on, "what happened? How did you discover Momiji-kun's transformation?"

Momo giggled a little. "I was crying, and I tried to hug him for comfort. I was pretty shocked, especially that first time."

"First time?" Tohru said innocently.

"Well, after he explained everything to me, I took him to Hatori-san's house nearby so that he could change back. And, well...I sort of bumped into Hatori-san, too."

Tohru laughed as she scrubbed at a particularly sticky glob of food. "Poor Hatori-san! He seems to get transformed all the time by accident, and he is so embarrassed about his other form!"

"Embarrassed?"

"Yes. I think he is cute, but he doesn't like how he transforms into such a small, weak animal when he should be the strong dragon."

Momo chuckled. "I guess you're right. But you know what? I think he's very cute, too." They laughed together again.

"Did you see Mayuko-san, and Akito-san and Yuki-kun?" Tohru asked.

"Yes. And Ayame-san, too, he was visiting." Momo paused. "While I was there, they...told me something." She took a deep breath. "About Momiji-kun." Her hands had stilled, and the dish and the rag she had been drying it with hung limply in her hands. After a minute she realized Tohru had stopped moving, too.

"It was a hard thing for you to hear," Tohru said gently.

"You already know!" Momo said in relief. She didn't want to have to go through the whole story again.

"Yes. Momiji-kun told me years ago. I met his mother once - I suppose she is your mother, too! She had brought you along; the two of you had come to pick up your papa. I remember thinking at the time how very beautiful you both were, and how much you two looked like Momiji-kun."

Momo was staring at her. "How do you know all that?"

Tohru smiled. "I was one of the cleaning ladies in your father's building!"

"Ohh! Is _that_ why I used to see Oniisan hanging around the cleaning ladies sometimes? Because you were one of them?"

"Yes! I loved it when he came to keep me company. The work seemed so much more fun with someone to talk to."

"I don't remember you working in Papa's building..."

"You were very young. But I saw you a couple of other times, too, when you still lived in the Sohma Estate," Tohru said.

Dim memory suddenly flashed back to Momo. "Oh! You were that girl! Oniisan's friend." Momo laughed, slightly embarrassed. "I can't believe I didn't realize until now that you were the same person as the one I met when I was little." Tohru smiled at her and went on washing dishes. Momo took a deep breath to get herself back on track.

"Tohru-san...what I wanted to talk to you about..." She paused. Then, "I don't know how I feel about Mama! I love her, because-- because she's _Mama_! But sometimes she annoys me, like the way she hovers over me all the time and is always demanding to know where I've been and what I've been up to. And she keeps nagging at me to do more things with my friends. And-- and how could she have let them erase her memories of Oniisan?" Momo angrily wiped her nose with the back of her hand, and got half her face damp. "Oniisan...he's so sweet, and caring. I love him. And he loves me and Mama and Papa, you can just _tell_ by the way he talks and the way he looks while he's talking. He didn't _deserve_ to get erased!"

Tohru turned the water off and put her arms around Momo. Momo leaned into the embrace, fiercely willing the tears back, though they seemed determined to try and get out through her nose instead.

"Your mama is a very soft, caring person," Tohru said in a gentle voice. "I saw the way she spoke to you, years ago. She loves you, and she wants to protect you. She wants to make sure you're safe and happy."

"But what about Oniisan!" Momo wailed.

Tohru sighed. It was a short, sharp sound that made Momo realize that Tohru was close to tears as well. "I can't imagine how your mother must have felt. I can't imagine Kia, or Tohaku, disappearing from my life as if they had never been born. But I can see it a little... When Kia was born, poor Kyo wanted to hold her so badly. But he couldn't, because when he transformed she would have fallen and gotten hurt. So instead I would hug him and he would lie beside her for as long as his cat form would allow. It was the only way he could be close to her.

"Then, when she got older, she would try to hug her father, like all children do, and he would turn into a cat in her arms. Kia was frightened the first few times, and then after that she would laugh, but I could always see how painful it was for Kyo. I was so glad, when Tohaku was born, because Kyo has one child now, at least, that he can embrace."

Momo wondered what this had to do with Mama and Momiji, but she did not interrupt.

Tohru pulled back a little and went on. "Your mama is such a loving person. She is the mama who wants to hold her son close to her body, to show him how much she cares for him. And when she is not able to do that...she probably feels like she is so inadequate, that she cannot love and protect her son the way she longs to. Kyo is hurt every day of his life, because of the barrier that is between him and his daughter. Your mama, at least, does not have to suffer that. And it is a terrible thing to suffer, when you are a parent."

"But she wasn't the only one involved," Momo whispered. "She hurt Oniisan, too, and me. She had no right to do that!"

"Your mama did what she had to do. And Momiji-kun did what he had to do. He is a very strong person, Momo-san. Not everyone could still show such joy and love after they have been rejected like that. Not everyone could make decisions like that, and still love the person who chose differently than they did." Tohru smiled warmly at her. "You are Tohaku for your mama. You are the one she can love and care for. Let her love Momiji-kun through you, and love her for Momiji-kun's sake as well as your own. If you do that, you'll find that there's not much room left for blame and anger."

Momo smiled at her, and the two of them laughed to break the tension. _'Oniisan was right,'_ Momo thought. _'Tohru-san heals you. She finds exactly what makes you hurt and shows you, so that you can start dealing with it.'_

Tohru and Momo were both startled by a burst of hysterical, high-pitched screams from outside. They weren't the normal excited screams of children playing; it sounded like Kia and Tohaku were absolutely terrified.

_'Something's happened,'_ Momo thought, and her throat choked up with fear. _'Something's happened to the kids.'_ In the time it took Momo to form that thought, Tohru was already dashing out the door, without word or pause. Momo started after her, but then a nauseous smell overcame her. _'Where did that come from?'_ she wondered dimly. She sank to her knees, pressing her hands over her mouth and willing herself to not throw up. _'Oh, gross, gross...what's happening? What is this _smell

She heard running footsteps. "Momo!" Momiji gasped. Momo glanced up and saw him standing over her, looking pale and anxious. "Momo, come on, I have to take you home."

"The kids...?"

"They're fine," he said quickly, "just frightened."

"Oniisan...this smell..."

"Ssh, Momo. Let's leave, you'll feel better. Do you have to throw up first?"

"I've got to get out of here." Momo scrambled to her feet and struggled to the front door. Momiji helped her along, and sure enough, she did feel better when they were outside and father away from the house. They did not speak until they were sitting next to each other on the subway train.

"Oniisan," Momo asked finally, almost scared to hear the answer, "what happened?"

Momiji was quiet for a minute. He looked sad. "Have you ever," he finally said, "noticed that bracelet that Kyo always wears?"

"Yes. The one with the black and white beads?"

Momiji nodded. "It's not just a piece of jewelry. Kyo _has_ to wear it. It's the only thing that can restrain his "other" form."

"The Cat?"

Momiji shook his head. "No. It's a different one. It's...it's not very nice-looking. Even I have trouble handling the memory of it, though I know it was only Kyo. It's only his body that changes, not his mind."

They were silent for a while, and then Momo asked hesitantly, "Do you think they'll mind that we left so quickly? Without even saying goodbye?"

"That place was in chaos when we left. It was kinder to let Tohru sort it out on her own - Kyo would have been glad that we left before you could see him." He took in a shuddering breath. "Poor Kyo. Poor Kia and Haku. We were all just playing, having fun. Then Tohaku started wrestling with Kyo. He grabbed the bracelet and wouldn't let go. Kyo yelled at him, but it was too late, Haku pulled it off." Momiji shook his head. "Kyo and Tohru hadn't wanted to tell the kids about the Cat's true form. Not until they were old enough to handle it. It's not good that Kia and Tohaku had to see something like that happen to their father, when they are still so young."

Momo felt terrible. She ached for Kyo and his family, frustrated that there was nothing she could do. And at the same time she was frightened - what kind of horrible creature did Kyo turn into, that could make Kia and Tohaku scream like that at the sight of their own father?

Momo had a surprise when Momiji dropped her off and she came into the house.

"Momo?" Her mother had come into the front hallway as Momo was taking off her shoes. "Momo...welcome home."

Momo returned her mother's hesitant smile with a brilliant one. "Oh, Mama, I'm sorry!" She ran and hugged her mother, who held her tightly in her arms. Momo nearly cried, as she thought about this feeling that her brother, Momiji, would never be able to experience. "I'm sorry for yelling at you like that, Mama, and saying such horrible things to you. I love you, I really do!"

"Momo," her mother whispered, and kissed her hair. They held each other for a while, and then Momo's mother pushed back with a little laugh. "Look at us! Idling in the hallway when we have guests."

Momo frowned in puzzlement. "Guests?"

"They called earlier to say they were coming, but you weren't here. I never had a chance to tell you, and...well, I wasn't sure when you'd be back."

"I'm sorry, Mama. I'll call you next time to tell you my plans."

Her mother smiled and hugged her shoulders. Then they reached the living room, and Momo stopped short.

Akito was sitting there.

_to be continued..._

Author's Notes: Heh, the whole point of this chapter was simply an excuse for me to write about Ayame's and Kyo's families again. I don't think it contributed anything to the plot (not that there even _is_ much of a plot).

Aya did not turn out as cute as I intended her to be. Oh well. I tried. I also tried to give Ayame more kids in the sequel, but he wouldn't hear of it. Ayame let me know that, yes, he was absolutely delighted with his daughter, but really, he was not cut out to be a father. No more kids, thank you.

I also liked writing Hana better than I thought I would, though Hana didn't really get much of the spotlight. Oh well, I don't think she minds.

The whole thing with the shirt-painting just _randomly_ came to me as I was writing, it wasn't in my outline. It turned out well, though, and it filled up a previously empty scene that I didn't know what to do with.

The baseball cap scene was also added in later, to replace a weird scene that ended up not working out. Also, a single difficult sentence required me to go back and add the cats to chapter 3. Previously, there were no cats in this story (other than Kyo), though I'd been thinking about adding them. Turns out I'd have to add them anyway, whether I wanted to or not.


	8. Muddy Treasures

_The Same Shade of Yellow_, by Raberba girl

**Chapter 8 - Muddy Treasures**

He smiled at her. He was as beautiful as ever. The sight of Akito in all his silken glory, sitting in the middle of the living room she saw every day, was so incongruous in Momo's mind that she almost forgot to reply when Akito greeted her.

"Oh! Hello, Akito-san. Hello, Yuki-san," she added, as the second man, accompanied by her father, returned to the living room from another part of the house.

"Momo, welcome home," her father said. He pulled her close in a hug, then stood back and looked carefully at her face. "Are you all right?" he asked softly.

"Yes. I'm sorry, Papa."

They sat down next to Momo's mother, across from Akito and Yuki. At first it was only friendly chit-chat, which Momo fell into easily. She had the feeling they might have been talking about her earlier, but her entrance had lightened the conversation back to pleasantries and casual news.

"You were right," Akito said to Momo's father. He looked at Momo as he spoke. "Your daughter is a very pretty girl. She takes after her mother."

"Thank you," Mrs. Sohma said.

Akito sighed softly. "It is a shame that you could not pass on your good looks to more children."

"We thought about having one or two after Momo," Mrs. Sohma said, just the tiniest bit stiffly, "but it never really worked out."

"Ah." Akito smiled disarmingly. "What a pity," he said again, in a soft, musing kind of way. He took a small sip of tea.

"Raising children can be difficult," Yuki said sympathetically. "Especially if a child is different from others."

"We find Momo to be quite well-adjusted, thank you."

Yuki chuckled quietly. "You misunderstand. I had someone else in mind when I said that. But as to that, Momo is a quiet girl. I think she has things to offer that she does not know about yet. She can be lonely, even with her friends, because she has not yet found the way to use her gifts for other people, and she is not sure how to connect to them." He smiled and rested his chin on his hand. "I was the same way when I was young."

"I-- " Momo started, and stopped. Then her face burned as she realized they were all looking at her and she had to go on. "I was going to say...I think a lot of people feel, sometimes, like they are different from everyone else. And, when you meet someone who seems strange at first, or has something wrong with them, you can't just discard them on first sight. Because everyone's like that. I know someone...someone who can accept people the way they are. She sees the good in them, and she takes their bad or scary parts together with their good parts. Because she knows that it's _worth_ it. I wish... I know it's silly to say, but I...I just wish that everyone could be like that." Momo stared into her lap and refused to look at her mother. She had tried not to sound accusing, but the part of her that ached for Momiji had wanted her to say it.

Momo finally raised her head, and saw that her parents had lost the thread of the conversation. Akito and Yuki looked calm and thoughtful. The steam from the cup of tea Akito held nestled in his hands drifted up lazily to caress his face. Momo watched it. When he spoke, his lips began moving so smoothly that Momo hardly connected them to the sound of his voice.

"It would be a very strange world, if everyone understood each other." He paused. "No one would ever need to work. To search their loved one so deeply that it hurts, and then to gather the ugly, dirty things they have found close in their arms, as if they were treasures." He closed his eyes and sipped his tea. His long, fine lashes lay across his skin like black feathers on snow. "How boring."

Momo breathed in, then out. "But it would be easier."

Akito carefully set his cup down. "Some people are weak. Have you ever thought of that? In your world, a weak person will accept themselves and others so well, that they will not be able to bear it. The muddy treasures that they try to take into their arms will cut them, and because they are weak, they will have no protection against being cut so deeply that they bleed to death." He smiled his meaningful, narrow-eyed smile. "I think it is best if these weak people did not have to dig at all. Someone else must do that. Someone else must find the treasure, and clean it, and polish away its sharp parts, so that when it is given to the weak person, it will not cause harm."

Momo smiled. _'You and your allegories, Akito-san. Don't worry. I understand. It's just the same thing Tohru-san was trying to tell me.'_ She looked at her mother, thoughtfully. Momo remembered the way her mother had welcomed her home, even after Momo had caused her such pain. _'Only, I do not think that Mama is weak. It is only that the sharp parts she can handle are different from the ones that Tohru-san can. Maybe Mama will never be able to accept Oniisan. But she has accepted me. And I know that I can sometimes be just as hurtful to her as Oniisan was.'_

Akito suddenly coughed. It was a small, hiccuping kind of cough, but Yuki looked alarmed.

"Forgive me," Akito murmured. "I find the air in here somewhat heavy." He coughed again.

Yuki frowned and leaned toward Akito, peering at him intently. Momo looked, and now she saw that beads of sweat were standing out on Akito's skin. "Akito, you should have told me before now that you weren't feeling well," Yuki said, after he had put his hand to Akito's forehead and taken it away. He shook his head, and the frown on his face deepened.

"We were having such an intriguing conversation with Momo. I could not pull myself away," Akito said, trying to sound light and amused. Akito had to pause to gather himself before he accepted Yuki's hand to help him up, but even so, Akito did not look very steady. Yuki quietly took his arm, offering support.

"Thank you very much for having us," Yuki said to Momo's parents.

"We were honored by your visit," Momo's father said, without really thinking about it. He seemed to be more concerned about Akito. "Here, sir, let me take your other side." Akito looked annoyed, but did not protest when Momo's father took his other arm and helped him outside along with Yuki.

Momo's mother still sat, staring at her folded hands and not saying anything. Momo went to sit beside her. "Mama? Are you all right?"

"Mm-hm." She paused. "That was...a strange conversation we were having, though. It was confusing - Akito-san seemed so earnest, yet I couldn't understand him at all. Like he was saying two things at once, and I couldn't hear both parts."

"He is very mysterious," was all Momo could think to say. Fortunately, Mama only nodded and started to put the tea things away.

-----------------------------------------------------------

"Um, Ronnie-kun."

"Huh? Oh, hi, Momo-san." He smiled.

"Hello." Still, she could not think what to say. But she kept looking at his face, instead of dropping her gaze. She suddenly drew in a breath and then let it out with words. "I really like you, Ronnie-kun. Will you go out with me?"

He stared at her for a second, surprised. Then her heart sank, slowly and quietly, as she watched the look on his face change to discomfort and helplessness.

"Never mind. Don't worry about trying to not hurt my feelings. It's okay." She turned and walked away.

"I'm sorry, Momo-san!" he called after her. There was a pause, and then a second later he ran to catch up. "Wait, Momo-san. It's not that I don't like you, it's just...I don't really think of you in a - girlfriend kind of way." He tried to smile, but saw it was useless. "Um...I'll see you around, I guess."

Momo just nodded, imagining her expression to match what she remembered of Hana's. That was how she felt - blank and gloomy.

Ronnie awkwardly went away, and Momo trudged on, not bothering to think about where she was going. She did not feel like going home, she wanted to be somewhere where nobody knew her and she could relax into her misery.

Momo stopped when she saw the restaurant that Momiji had taken her to the first time they met. She stood looking at it for a minute, then shrugged. Why not? She went and pushed through the front door, looked around for an empty place, then did a double take when she spotted someone familiar in the corner. Kagura? Momo came up softly behind her. Kagura was alone, and she was crying.

"Kagura-san?"

Kagura froze, then whirled around. "YOU ARE SUCH A JERK! HOW COULD YOU JUST _DUMP_ ME LIKE--" Kagura broke off when she saw who it was she was shaking by the neck. The furious blaze in her eyes died, and her body went limp. "Oh, Momo-chan...I'm-- I'm so sorry."

Momo winced and rubbed at her own neck, then sat down in the seat next to Kagura and put her arm around the other girl's shoulders. "Kagura-san, what happened?"

Kagura began to cry again. "Daisuke. He dumped me."

Momo's eyes filled with tears that didn't fall. She still felt as if she had been suspended on another planet, separated from her feelings, but now suddenly Kagura had been dumped on the same planet. It made Momo feel a little bit better, in a dumb, selfish kind of way.

"Tell me."

"He f-finally found out about the curse!" Kagura sobbed. "He was jealous...he started y-yelling at me about how I'm always all over everyone except _him_, and I- couldn't tell him it was only Kyo-kun and them I was allowed to hug, and it's hard to k-kiss and stuff when Daisuk-e doesn't know I can't put m-my arms around him," Kagura paused, trying to stay coherent enough to continue, "and I was ab-bout to beat him up 'cause he was j-jealous of me for no reason...but then he started crying, and h-he yelled at me some more, and th-then he grabbed me, and I turned into a boooaaarr!" The last word ended in a wail, and Kagura put her head down on the table and sobbed.

Momo stroked her back for a while, until Kagura started to calm down. After a long time, Kagura's sobs subsided into an occasional sniffle. She sat up, breathing hard and looking angry. "He completely flipped out. He shoved me away and stared at me like I was a sickening _freak_ - and I am, I am! We _all_ are! I HATE IT!"

"Ssh," Momo soothed. "That's not true, Kagura-san."

"Well, _he_ sure thinks it is!" Kagura snarled, and it somehow turned back into a wail. "The _look_ he gave me...it was horrible." Kagura suddenly froze. "Oh," she whispered. And then, "Oh, no no no..."

"What, Kagura-san? What is it?"

"That's what I did to Kyo-kun," Kagura whispered. She whimpered and seemed about to cry again, but then got ahold of herself. "I did the same thing to Kyo-kun. I gave him the same look. When I made him take off his bracelet that time. It was so long ago, and I tried so hard to make it up to him afterwards, but-- Oh, Kyo-kun, _this_ is how he felt..." Kagura began crying again, but more softly this time. Again Momo held her for a while, until Kagura was calmer.

"Oh, what do I _do_, Momo-chan? Daisuke ran out before I had time to explain. And now he hates me, and he thinks I'm a freak, and I have to tell Akito-san and Hatori so that they can erase Daisuke's memories...but...I don't _want_ them to...I HATE being a part of this stupid, stupid curse!"

"I hate it, too." Kagura looked at her in surprise. "I hate all the trouble it's caused. I hate that, because of the curse, I don't have a brother."

Kagura suddenly laughed. "I'm sorry, Momo-chan. Compared to your problems, mine must seem so dumb."

"I was going to say the same thing to you. I finally asked Ronnie-kun out. He wasn't interested."

"The jerk!"

And then somehow they were laughing and talking as if this was a normal dinner date. They chatted for nearly half an hour, pretending to make up elaborate plans of revenge on their respective men.

"Don't worry, Kagura-san," Momo said as she was finally getting up to leave. She caught Kagura's hand and smiled at her. "Daisuke-san is not the only man in the world. And I'm sure that someday, you'll find a person who can accept all your muddy treasures along with the rest of you."

"What are you talking about?"

Momo laughed. "Ask Akito-san."

_to be continued..._

Author's Notes: Grr on you, Mrs. Sohma. Akito and Yuki saved this chapter for me, though. I hope the weird conversation came out all right; that kind of thing always works out well in my head, and then looks terrible when I attempt to write it down. I was actually dealing with that throughout the whole fic, not just chapter 8, but I think it turned out okay. Probably because I wrote down the conversations right away, instead of letting them stew for ages in my head.


	9. Visiting Hours

_The Same Shade of Yellow_, by Raberba girl

**Chapter 9 - Visiting Hours**

A day or so later, Momo's mother called down the hallway to her. "Momo! Momiji-kun is on the phone for you."

Momo smiled and took the phone. "Momiji-kun?"

_"Momo!"_

"Hi! What's going on?"

_"Momo, tomorrow's Saturday. Are you free? Can you come with me to the hospital?"_

Momo was confused. "Huh? Why?"

_"Akito. Hatori and Yuki took him to the hospital yesterday. He's been sick for days, but he didn't tell anyone at first and tried to hide it, and then it got real bad. Momo, I'm worried about him."_

He did sound distressed. Momo found that she was upset, too. "Of course I can come. I'll come tonight."

_"No, Akito's resting. He hasn't had any sleep for hours and hours, and they're trying to get him to take sedatives, but he won't."_

"He doesn't like thinking of himself as an invalid."

_"I know."_ Momiji sounded unhappy. _"But where does it cross the line from being independent to being unhealthy? Momo, I'm so worried about him."_

"He'll be okay, Momiji-kun. He's lasted this long." She meant it to be a lighthearted reassurance, so she was surprised when Momiji took her seriously.

_"You're right. When he was little, the doctors all said he wouldn't live past age 22. He proved them wrong. Akito's strong."_

That was the first time Momo had heard anything of the sort. Had they really given Akito such a death sentence? She felt a fierce surge of pride for Akito. _'Oniisan's right, you_ are_ strong, Akito-san. Hang in there. You'll get well again, I know it.'_

"Will you be okay, Momiji-kun?"

She heard him breathe out in an unhappy puff. _"I guess so. I--"_ He breathed out again, sounding determined. _"I guess so. I'll see you tomorrow, Momo. Ten o'clock. Akito should be feeling better by then; he's worse in the early mornings and at night."_

Momo glanced around the hall to make sure her parents were not around, then murmured, "Oniisan. I love you." It was all she could think of to comfort him.

Momiji laughed in a low, grateful voice. _"Love you too, Momo."_

He hung up.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Akito's room was just a few steps away from one of the waiting rooms. The place was filled with Sohmas, among them Ayame and his family, and Mayuko.

When Momo, Kagura, and Momiji came in, Aya jumped out of her mother's lap and ran to meet them. It was a girly version of a sailor outfit today. "Miss Kagura!" Kagura knelt down and hugged the little girl.

"Aya-chan! Hey, cutie!" Kagura and Aya rubbed noses, and then Kagura lightly pinched her cheeks.

Aya then looked up at Momiji and smiled shyly.

"Hey there, Aya-chan! You remember me?"

"No," Aya said, but she took Momiji's hand and swung it happily. "Do you turn into something, too?"

"Yes, a bunny."

Aya looked absolutely delighted. "Ooh, ooh! Can I hug you?!"

"Ah, Aya-chan!" Momiji chuckled, "Later, okay?"

"Okay!" Aya let go and ran back to her parents, one of whom was talking just as quickly and cheerfully, though perhaps not as loudly, as usual. Only Mine seemed to be paying any attention to what he was saying.

"...insisted on the sailor outfit, though I suppose it _is_ cute; you know, she likes to watch _Sailor Moon_, now...cute short skirts...ha ha, Momiji-kun! I hope you are not getting any strange ideas, now; you should wait until Aya-chan is older before you try to seduce her..."

"Here, Momo, you haven't met everyone," Kagura said. "Ah, Ri-chan! Momo, this is Ritsu, we call him Ri-chan."

"Hi, um, Ri-chan-san," Momo said shyly. Ritsu, though he wore men's clothes, had a face that was so delicate and beautiful it could easily have been a woman's. His fair, shoulder-length hair was pulled back, though wisps of it had come loose and were trailing around his face.

He smiled at her almost as shyly. "Hello, Momo-san. It's good to finally be introduced. Where are your parents?"

"They said they would come later today."

"Oi, Rabbit. Who's that you got with you?" The man who had called out had spiky hair dyed white, though quite a bit of the black roots were showing.

At least, Momo thought his hair was dyed, until Momiji whispered to her, "That's Haru. He's the Ox." Out loud, Momiji said, "This is my sister Momo, Haru. Momo, that's Hatsuharu Sohma, and his wife Rin."

"Hello," Momo said. Haru lifted two fingers in greeting, though Rin simply gave Momo a piercing look.

"And this is Hiro and Kisa Sohma, the ones I told you about."

"Hi," the fair-haired young man said, with a reluctant smile at Momo. Then he turned and glared at Momiji. "Exactly what is it you've been saying about us, Rabbit?"

"It's a secret," Momiji said with a wink.

"Why you--"

The yellow-haired, very pregnant young woman beside him quickly put her hand over his. "Hello again, Momiji-kun," she said before her husband could go on. "It's very nice to meet you, Momo-san. Momiji-kun has told us so much about you over the past few days."

"More like _babbled non-stop_," Hiro muttered, "just like another moron I know who doesn't shut up."

"Aha ha ha ha! I hope you are not talking about me, Hii-chan!" Ayame laughed from where he was sitting.

"_Don't_ call me Hii-chan!"

Momiji finished introducing Momo, and then they sat down and waited, talking occasionally and watching Aya work on a coloring book her parents had brought for her.

"Mister Bunny, Mister Bunny!" Aya jumped up and ran to him, holding her book out. "Look what I did!"

"It's beautiful, Aya-chan!" Momiji smiled. Yellow and green crayon streaks had been scrawled over a picture of three rabbits eating flowers.

"Look, see, this one is you, and this one is Miss Momo, and this one is Mommy and Daddy!"

"How can _one_ rabbit be two people?" Hiro scoffed.

"Hiro," Kisa murmured.

Aya looked at Hiro for a minute, confused. Then she broke into a dazzling smile, jotted crude faces on each of the rabbit's ears, and held the picture up to Hiro. "See! _This_ ear is Mommy, and _this_ ear is Daddy!"

Hiro rolled his eyes in disgust, not bothering to argue.

Aya plopped down onto Momiji's feet, leaned back against his legs, and started scribbling colors over the next picture: four very cute dragons building a snowman.

After a few minutes, a very tired-looking Yuki came into the room. Almost everyone stopped talking and looked at him tensely. "Akito is feeling better now," Yuki said. "He says he wants to see you all, but Hatori and I think it would be best if you came just one or two at a time."

Haru and Rin went out, and Yuki sat down on the other side of Momo. He sighed and leaned his head back against the wall, and closed his eyes.

"Rough night?" Momiji asked sympathetically.

"He barely slept," Yuki murmured. "He refused to take drugs, but either the pain or the nausea would keep him awake. He finally fell asleep around four-thirty this morning, but then he woke up again just a few hours later." Yuki leaned forward again and shook his head. "Hatori's exhausted. He'll barely let anyone else touch Akito - he didn't want to bring him here, he just needed some of the equipment that we didn't have at home. But Hatori looks even more tired than I feel."

Aya crept carefully into Yuki's lap and looked up at him worriedly. "Uncle Yuki? Don't be sad. I love you."

Yuki's eyes softened. He leaned his head against his niece's. "Thank you, Aya-chan. I love you, too." After a minute, Aya crawled back off and went to sprawl on the floor in front of her parents so she could color again.

Angry, stomping footsteps sounded from down the hall, approached, and then came into sight as Kyo.

He looked upset about something. He stalked through the door and across the room without a word, threw himself into the empty chair next to Yuki, and sat silently for a minute. Yuki looked at him, waiting. Kyo drew in a sharp, sobbing breath, then started whispering heatedly to Yuki, but so quietly that Momo could only pick up a stray word here and there. Only once did a longer phrase rise out, charged with frustration and grief: _"...won't touch me, they refuse to come _near_ me..."_ After a while Kyo fell silent, and his eyes squeezed shut as if in pain. Yuki put his arm around Kyo, and Kyo leaned his head on Yuki's shoulder. It was such a different image than the one of them fighting, that Momo knew Akito had been right. That fight had been just the Cat and the Rat goofing around. Kyo must be really upset, to want to drop the pretense like this.

More footsteps were heard, a lot of them this time. It was Kazuma, Tohru, Hana, Kia, and Tohaku. All of them, even the kids, were strangely quiet as they came in.

Aya brightened when she saw them. "Kia! Haku!" She jumped up and ran to them, but Kia edged away and Tohaku pressed closer to his mother. "Hi, hi! Mommy and Daddy and me are here too! You wanna color?"

"No," Kia said sulkily. Tohaku glared at Aya and then pressed his face against Tohru. Neither of them so much as glanced in their father's direction.

"Brats," Kyo whispered heartbrokenly, but so softly that only Yuki and Momo could have heard. Tohru started to head in her husband's direction, but the kids squawked and yanked at her skirt. She sighed and ended up sitting across the room from Kyo, with the kids and Hana. Aya followed behind, slightly bewildered. Kazuma came and sat next to Kyo.

Everyone sat quietly for a while. Aya, not understanding what was happening, was beginning to look upset. She crawled into her mother's lap and whined under her breath for a while, until Mine finally picked her up and left the room. Ayame went with them, blathering something about kids being so cranky when they got hungry.

As time went by, people went in to make their visits and then left, until only Momo, Kagura, Momiji, Mayu, Yuki, Hana, and Kyo's family were left.

A man and a woman came in together, teasing each other and laughing. The woman had dyed her chopped-short hair an odd shade of red, and looked to be a few months pregnant. Her personality was so big that just by walking in, she seemed to fill the room. The man next to her, on the other hand, seemed shy, quiet, and friendly; he was like a shadow trailing in after her.

"Yo! What's up, everyone?" the woman tossed casually to the room in general. She caught sight of Kyo leaning against Yuki and winked. "Now here's something you don't see every day: the Cat cuddling up to the Rat. What's up, Orangey?"

"Shut up, Uo," Kyo grumbled.

She frowned. "Well, same to you." She turned her attention to Momo. "Ah, here's a new face. What's your name, sugar?"

"I'm Momo Sohma. Pleased to meet you." She smiled.

"Arisa Uotani Sohma. Call me Uo." Uo jerked a thumb at the man next to her. "This here's Kureno." Uo paused to study Momo for a minute, then smiled and ruffled her hair - Momo was a bit disconcerted. Uo winked at Momiji. "Cute thing, your sister."

"Yay! You could tell!"

"Yeah. Stick some rabbit-ears on her head and big cotton ball on her butt, and she'll look just like you."

Momo was shocked, but everyone else seemed used to Uo's way of talking. Uo collapsed into an empty seat with a loud, comfortable "Umph!" She patted her bulging belly as Kureno sat down quietly beside her. "Gosh, this thing's a pain." She laughed. "Didn't plan on it, but I'll take what I get."

"Take some advice, and don't plan on any more," Kyo muttered.

Uo frowned, then reached, with some difficulty, over Kazuma and slapped Kyo's knee. "Hey, Carrot-top, what's wrong with you? The weather's beautiful today, so I know that's not it."

"I turn into a freak, okay, so shut up!"

"So what? So does my guy. So do half the people in this room."

"You don't understand," Kyo mumbled. Kia and Tohaku were getting very whiny throughout this exchange, and Tohru was beginning to look harassed.

Then Hana spoke. Her voice was soft, but everyone in the room could hear her clearly. "Apparently, Uo-chan, we are not as trustworthy as we thought. There are some secrets in the Sohma family that you and I are still not aware of."

"Hana-chan..." Tohru whispered, "Uo-chan...I'm sorry. It's not like that at all - I would trust you with anything. I didn't tell you because...I didn't want you to worry. It's all right, really, but still...I didn't want you to worry..."

Uo frowned dangerously. "Worry about _what_, Tohru?"

Kyo snapped upright. "You wanna know?" he said furiously. "Why don't I just _show_ you, then, so you can hate me now and get it over with!" He reached for his bracelet, but Yuki and Kazuma were too fast. Their hands clamped over his wrist, locking the bracelet in place.

"Think where you are," Yuki hissed, and Kazuma murmured, "Would you really have wanted the children to see that again?" Kyo sat frozen, seething with rage. Then he jerked free and stalked out of the room. Tohru, ignoring the screeches of Kia and Tohaku, ran after him. Then their footsteps abruptly halted as soon as they reached the hallway.

"Would someone please explain to me what's going on?" Uo demanded.

"Ah. It is only that Kyo has another form, one that is uglier than the Cat. That is all."

The voice was soft and unconcerned-sounding, but the room immediately went silent. Akito stepped past Tohru and Kyo soundlessly, except for the gentle _swish_ of his robes as they dragged across the floor. He stopped in front of Kia and Tohaku, who stared up at him like animals in a trap. Momo had never seen Akito look more sick, or more dangerous. Yuki was tense beside her. Hatori hovered helplessly in the shadows just outside the door.

"You really are acting stupid, you know," Akito murmured pleasantly. "So. Your father can transform into a monster. What is the matter with that? Do you think he will hurt you just because this form of his is scarier than that of the Cat? A cat has claws and teeth as well. Don't you think a cat could hurt you just as much as a monster could?"

Akito smiled, and reached out a hand to carefully tip Kia's face up to his. "Do you think that you might come to love the monster just as much as you love your father and the cat?" His already-narrowed eyes slanted even further. "Kia. Perhaps you would like to hug me? Then we will see what happens. I am sure that you will go running to your father's arms for comfort."

The room went, if possible, even more still. Momo knew instinctively, just as Kia and Tohaku must have, that whatever Akito's transformation was had to be far worse than Kyo's other form.

There was a pause.

Then Tohaku suddenly cried out and ran to his parents, who stood watching apprehensively in the doorway. Tohaku slammed into Kyo and clutched at him, wailing; Kia took Kyo's arm and pressed her face against it, trying to hold back tears. They huddled together like that for a minute, and then Kazuma crossed over to them and gently led them all away.

When Kyo's family left, Momo looked back at Akito.

He had been jostled as the kids pushed past him, and to save himself from falling he'd caught the armrest of a chair. He stood now, his shoulders bent, gasping for breath. Yuki and Hatori were instantly at his side.

Akito slowly straightened, not looking at anyone. He shook off Yuki and Hatori angrily, but the brief violent movement seemed to use up the last of his strength. He looked as unsteady as he had been at Momo's house. "I'm tired," he said after a moment. His voice was low and hard to hear. "I do not wish to see anyone else today." Then Akito made his way slowly out of the room, with Yuki, Hatori, and Mayuko trailing behind.

Uo was sitting, looking stunned. She swore under her breath. "What was that about? What the heck was all that about?"

Kureno murmured something to her.

"Well whatever it is, I'm not taking it," Uo muttered. She heaved herself up. "Let's go. I'll talk to Tohru later." She stopped on her way to the door and put her hand on Hana's shoulder. "Come with us, Saki," she pleaded. "I need someone who's not from this crazy family. Gosh, how did I get myself _into_ this nuthouse?"

"Would it help any if I told you that you're good for me?" Kureno said.

"No," Uo grumbled, but she let him kiss her cheek and lead her away. Hana glided after them like a ghost.

Momo's breath came out of her in a whoosh, and immediately after she had to suck in air. Had she forgotten to breathe or something?

Momiji stretched his arms above his head. "Well, this visit did not go very well, though not for the reasons I expected." He relaxed and shook his head sadly. "Maybe Akito will see us some other time."

"He's sick," said Kagura, "it's harder for him to keep from acting the way he used to. We ought to come back later, give him time to recover."

Momiji jumped to his feet and held out his hand to Momo. "Come on, Momo. Let's go home." He smiled at her, but it was a more serious smile than she was used to.

They left the empty waiting room without a glance back.

Momo could not help stopping just outside Akito's door. It sounded like he was throwing up. She cracked open the door just a little and peeked in. She could see a glimpse of Akito in his loose silk robes, crumpled sideways across the bed. He was coughing up nothing: his stomach was empty. It sounded painful.

"Akito," Yuki said helplessly. He sounded near tears. "You shouldn't have gone out there."

"I couldn't stand...to have them treat Kyo that way..." Akito sounded near tears himself. "I haven't changed at all...those children, with such fear in their eyes..."

"They needed to hear it," Mayuko said tightly, rubbing his back. "However you did it, it worked."

"It cost too much..." Akito could not speak anymore.

Momo silently shut the door and backed away. When she turned and looked, she found Momiji and Kagura standing down the hall, waiting for her. "I'm sorry," she muttered as she caught up. Her face was red. "I don't know why I did that."

"Akito is a very fascinating person," Momiji said. Then he smiled. "And he is very cute. I understand why you would want to peek at him, Momo."

Momo nearly choked. "Oniisan!"

When they found the car and had finally managed to extricate themselves from the parking lot, Kagura asked if Momo wanted to be dropped off at her house.

Momo hesitated. "Well, I think...if it's all right, I would like to stay with you a little longer. I don't quite want to go home yet, I wanted to spend more time with Oniisan."

"Kagura has cards at home," Momiji said. "I can teach you how to play _Dai Hin Min_, Momo!"

"I've never played it."

"Oh, it's fun! One time Kyo and Shigure spent so much time playing it, outside on a cold day, that they both got sick. Hana's best at it, she beats everyone."

"All right, I'll give it a try," Momo said.

When they got there, however, all thought of _Dai Hin Min_ was driven from their minds. Daisuke was sitting in front of Kagura's front door, looking bored. He jumped up when he saw them coming.

Kagura froze. "Daisuke!" Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't fling you over into the parking lot."

Daisuke threw up his hands in surrender. "Kagura! Before you kick my butt, let me say something, at least!"

"I don't want to talk to you," Kagura growled. "Wasn't Hatori supposed to have erased your memories by now?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Daisuke said.

The thought occurred to Momo that Hatori must have been too preoccupied with Akito to worry about Daisuke.

"Look, Kagura, what I wanted to say-- I've thought about it. A lot." He took a deep breath. "And, I don't care that - that you can, um, turn into something else. Well, I mean maybe I do care, but it doesn't matter. Well, maybe it does matter, but--"

Kagura was beginning to look murderous.

Daisuke threw up his hands again. "What I mean is, I still want you to be my girlfriend, Kagura!" When she didn't say anything, he went on cautiously. "I've been thinking, and...I still love you, Kagura. When I thought back on it, I realized that the only thing that really bothered me is that you never hugged me or anything. But now that I know _why_, I mean, maybe we can deal with it. I can deal with it, you see? I like you a lot, and I don't want _us_ to be lost. Just be up front with me, okay? And we can deal with it together." He paused. "Um...I guess I'm finished now." He looked at her nervously.

Kagura stood glaring at him for a long time. Then her face suddenly crumpled, and she began to cry. Daisuke, forgetting entirely, hurried to put his arms around her, and was instantly surrounded by smoke.

"Whoops! Sorry, Kagura, I forgot! Don't hurt me!" Daisuke sat amidst the slowly clearing smoke, staring at the boar he held. He looked uncertain for a minute. Then he smiled and wrapped his arms around it. "There, see? Not so bad. At least this way I can hug you."

"She won't be wearing any clothes when she transforms back," Momiji said helpfully.

Kagura's head whipped around and her eyes glowed threateningly.

"Ah! Sorry, sorry Kagura!"

Momo was glad to see that Daisuke, once he'd gotten used to the idea, was very accepting of Kagura's zodiac problem. After they all went inside and explained the details of the curse to Daisuke, the four of them played several excellent games of _Dai Hin Min_, laughing and joking just like any other group of friends.

_to be concluded..._

Author's Notes: Yes, I DO know now that Akito doesn't turn into anything when he is hugged. It was a rumor I heard from a friend before Akito's Secret was revealed in the manga, and I saw how I could use it for this chapter.

But yeah, more fun Akito. I wrote this chapter almost purely to let him strut his stuff (and to give the neglected characters like Uo a little screentime). I kind of messed up Kia and Haku in the process, but...hm...maybe they'll forgive me when I get around to writing them as teenagers in the sequel.

I also liked writing Yuki, though he didn't get much action in this fic.

Rin and Kureno _really_ made me nervous, since I don't know them AT ALL. I gave them as little screentime as I could. I wish I could have done more with Haru, but nooo, Rin wouldn't let me. I think he has, what, one line in this entire fic? Oh well. There's other Haru-centered fics out there. It also might have been fun to work more with Hiro, but I had to ditch the subplot with Hiro and Kisa's kids, because, oops, I forgot how young they are still. Hm, Hatori barely showed up, either, though I'm sure it's no skin off his nose.

Uo was unexpectedly easy to write. I wish I'd done more with her, but nooo, Kureno has to go and be so mysterious that I don't know him _nearly_ well enough to give him more than a couple of lines.

Nice comeback for Daisuke, he really pulled off that scene at the end of chapter 9 (though the last paragraph was being extremely cantankerous). Daisuke was really a good character, I enjoyed working with him.

Heh, notice that Ayame always has to leave the room before a serious scene can occur.


	10. Love Regained

_The Same Shade of Yellow_, by Raberba girl

**Chapter 10 - Love Regained**

"Hey, Momo-san! Wait up!" Ronnie ran up to her and smiled.

"Hi," Momo said coolly.

"Hey now, don't make that face at me. I was just saying hi, you know?"

"All right. Then say it so you can leave."

Ronnie looked at her. "I really hurt your feelings the other day, didn't I."

Momo's throat felt tight. "Look, I don't want to talk about it, Ronnie-kun. You're not interested. It's finished. I have to get to class."

"Wait, Momo-san." He caught hold of her sleeve as she tried to push past him. "I...I was thinking about it, over the weekend. And I realized that you've changed."

She stared at him.

"I mean...you used to be so _shy_, you know? Kind of boring. I didn't know anything about you, I barely even noticed you. But I've been watching you lately, and you seem to be - cooler. Like, you talk more in class, and you smile more, and, I don't know, you...almost seem to...look prettier than you used to."

Momo's face was turning pink, but she didn't look away.

Ronnie laughed. "And, see, I can see your face now. You used to look down all the time, and mumble, and it was kind of annoying. But you don't do that as much anymore. I like that." He drew in a breath and let it out. "Okay, what I'm trying to say is, I reacted the other day without thinking. But now that you don't have me by surprise, I'm saying that we can try it, okay? I'll go out with you for a while and see how it is, and if we both like it we don't have to stop. That is, if you don't totally hate me by now." He gave her sad, pleading look. "Do you?"

That pretend-hurt face reminded Momo so much of Momiji that she couldn't help laughing. "Stop giving me that fake look, and smile at me. Yeah. We'll try it. But if I don't like how it's going, you can just forget it."

He smiled hugely at her. "Great! I'll see you after school then, Momo-san." He had turned and was walking away when he suddenly stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Hey, Momo-san! I forgot to tell you - I think when you don't try to hide it, your lisp is really cute!"

Momo felt like walking on air.

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The phone rang that evening when Momo and her parents were watching a movie together in the living room. Momo's father picked up the cordless phone lying next to him and answered it.

"Hello?" Then, "Oh, Momiji-kun. How have you been?" He listened for a second longer, then handed the phone to Momo. "It's for you."

She took it. "Momiji-kun?"

_"Hey, hey, Momo! I called to say that Akito's out of the hospital! He's still kind of sick, but he's recovering at home now."_

"That's wonderful, Momiji-kun! Maybe we can visit him together soon."

_"Yes, that's a good idea!"_

"What about the kids, though? Kia and Tohaku, are they okay?"

_"They're getting better. They're still kind of jumpy, but Tohru's been talking to them a lot, and I think they'll be fine after a while."_

"I just feel so sorry for them, and for Kyo-san."

_"It was going to happen sooner or later. It would have been best if Kia and Haku had been older - but everyone goes through scary things when they're kids. They'll be all right."_

As they talked some more, Momo noticed that her parents were beginning to look mildly annoyed. "Hey, Momiji-kun, I have to go, Mama and Papa are trying to watch TV."

"Momo," her mother said suddenly, "why don't you invite Momiji-kun over for dinner tomorrow? That way you can talk to him all you want, and you won't interrupt our movie."

Momo gaped at her mother. "Mama - do you mean it? Can he really come over?"

Mama looked tense for a minute, but then she relaxed and tried to smile. "I think it's a good idea."

"Momiji-kun, Momiji-kun, did you hear that?! Mama wants you to come over for dinner tomorrow!"

There was a silence at the other end. Then, _"I'll be there, Momo. Give my love to Mama and Papa."_

As usual, he hung up abruptly.

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Mama spent several hours cooking, and they all dressed up a little more than usual. Momo had been excited and restless all day (it didn't help that she got her first kiss from Ronnie as he said good-bye to her after school), and she couldn't concentrate on her homework. She took out some of her feelings by going around the house trying to find things to clean, straighten, or tidy.

Finally the doorbell rang, and Papa went to answer it, and he came back with Momiji shy and eager at his side.

"Hello, Mrs. Sohma," he said politely, and kissed his mother's hand. She looked surprised, but did not object. Then Momiji turned to Momo and dropped his shyness. "Momo! How are you?" He grabbed both her hands. "Isn't this so fun? The house looks really nice; I wish I could live here! Ah, and whatever is cooking smells sooooo good!"

They went into the living room and talked for a while, and then they all helped bring in the meal before sitting down to enjoy it.

"Mrs. Sohma, this is delicious! Even better than Tohru's cooking!" Momo knew he was just being polite; Momo had never tasted _anything_ that topped Tohru's food.

"Why, thank you, Momiji-kun. Such a polite boy!"

The smile he rewarded her with was truly sparkling.

"So, Momiji-kun," Papa said conversationally, "how are you taking care of yourself? What have you been up to, who are you staying with, that kind of thing."

"Oh! Well, I _was_ staying with Kagura, but since she's getting married I think I'd better start looking for a place of my own pretty soon!" Momiji laughed.

Momo gasped in delight. "Kagura-san's getting married? You mean, she and Daisuke-san are engaged?"

"Yes! Kagura's soooo happy! She's been dancing around and around, singing love songs and imagining the wedding."

"That's wonderful news," Papa said. "It's been years since things began to turn around for us, but it's still good to hear of people in this family being happy."

"What about Daisuke-san?" Momo wanted to know.

"He says he's kind of nervous about everything, but his face is also really happy. Isn't it great, Momo?"

"Yes, of course it is!"

"Maybe--" Mama said suddenly, then fell silent.

"What is it?" Papa asked gently.

"I was just thinking...if you had nowhere else to go, Momiji-kun, while you were looking for a place to live...perhaps you could stay with us. You're a nice young man. I don't think you would cause trouble. And you're still so young, you shouldn't be on your own yet. I don't know how your parents feel about it, but a teenager like you is better off living with adults who can...care for you."

Momo was stunned. Then she went tense and breathless, trying not to hope for too much.

Momiji's face was shining. "If you really wouldn't mind, Mrs. Sohma, I think I would like that," he whispered. Then he began talking animatedly about rent and things like that, and Momo's parents insisted that, _if_ everything worked out and he _did_ end up staying with them, payment was out of the question. Then Momo got bored and mentioned Germany, so Momiji ended up spending the rest of dinner entertaining them with college stories. For Mama's sake, he made it sound more as if he had been to boarding school than college.

"Oh my! Where did the time go?" Mama said in surprise.

_"It flew off on wings like a bird,"_ Momiji sang.

"My goodness, dear, you really do have a pretty voice," Mama said admiringly.

"Really? Thank you! I joined a choir for a while in Germany, and it was so much fun! They liked me because my voice never really broke; it just kind of _smoothed_, you know what I mean?"

Mama laughed and said again that his voice was beautiful.

"Well, Momo," Papa said cheerfully, "why don't you help me clean up, and Mama and Momiji-kun can visit some more?"

"Good idea," Momo said quickly, and started grabbing dirty plates. Mama and Momiji went to the living room. As Momo helped her father wash and dry, she could hear Momiji's high voice and her mother's murmuring one. After a while she could not hear them anymore, over the splash of water and the clink of dishes. Had they stopped talking or just started speaking more softly?

Momo had just finished and was drying her hands when she heard the explosion. Her head snapped toward the living room door - smoke was wafting gently out from around the edges. Momo and her father ran together into the living room.

Mama knelt on the floor, surrounded by discarded clothes. She stared in shock at the rabbit she held in her arms. "A rabbit..." she whispered in disbelief.

"Mama, don't hurt him!" Seized by a surge of fear for her brother, Momo grabbed him and wrapped her arms around him protectively.

"Oww! Momo, you're hurting me!"

Mama screamed when she realized the rabbit had spoken. Momo ran from the room and sat on the floor in the hallway, clutching Momiji's warm, soft body close to her heart. They were both trembling. "Oh, Oniisan, what's going to happen?" Momo whispered. She listened to her mother being hysterical in the living room, and her father trying to be soothing.

It was a long moment before Momiji spoke. "I suppose she'll just visit Hatori again." His voice was low and emotionless. Momo didn't want to hug him tighter and hurt him, so she stroked his ears instead.

After a while Mama's voice became too quiet to hear.

"I don't feel strong right now, Momo," Momiji said. "Mama screamed when she saw me."

_'...won't touch me, they refuse to come _near_ me...'_

"I love you, Oniisan," Momo said fiercely. "I'll love you enough for both me and her."

"That's what Papa said," Momiji whispered.

Finally, Mama and Papa came out into the hallway. Mama hung back, and she had her hand up to cover her trembling mouth, but she did not look away. "Um." She had to clear her throat. "Your papa told me about the _Juunishi_ thing." She paused, then knelt and cautiously stretched out a hand to Momiji.

"I won't bite," he said. Mama gasped and jerked her hand back. Then she laughed nervously and reached out again.

Momiji closed his eyes as she gently stroked his head. "You make a beautiful rabbit," Mama said with a soft smile. She carefully took the rabbit from Momo and cuddled him. "I keep remembering what Akito-san said, that time," Mama murmured. "I didn't understand what he was talking about then, but now I think I do. At least a little." She rested her cheek against Momiji's soft fur. "I want to be an accepting person. I don't want to be weak. I love you, Momiji-kun."

"I love you too, Mrs. Sohma," Momiji sighed.

Papa put his arm around Momo, and she leaned into him. The sight of her brother in Mama's arms brought tears to her eyes. _'If you can learn to accept this boy's strange animal form,'_ Momo thought to her mother, _'Then perhaps someday you'll be able to handle his other secret. I pray that one day you will have a son again.'_

Momo smiled and held that thought close to her heart.

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Author's Notes: I needed a love interest for Momo, but I wasn't too interested him and didn't want to work with him too much. Ronnie obliged me by never getting in my way, though he did his job wonderfully. Thank you, Ronnie, you're just like Daisuke. Nice, undemanding characters who do what they're supposed to, and yet aren't pieces of lifeless baggage.

A passing idea for the fic's ending snagged in my brain, so I used it; but it turned out to be too short and blah. So I wrote a different, longer ending, and it was okay. Not impressive and brilliant, but it works.

I had been planning a sequel, but had problems. Good ideas for the characters (mainly the second generation Sohmas, like Kia and Haku), but absolutely NO idea what to do for a plot. Or how to include the canon characters. After about two years of struggle and procrastination, I finally produced a one-shot sequel that I hope everyone will enjoy.


	11. Sequel: Ten Years After

Ten Years After

(sequel to _The Same Shade of Yellow_)

A Fruits Basket fanfic by Raberba girl

Author's Note: Well, this story sure had a bumpy ride. Ages ago (almost two years!) I promised to write a sequel to _The Same Shade of Yellow_, but my ideas didn't pull together when I tried to work on it. Months and months later I got the brilliant idea to use the material I had for a _one-shot _instead of a multi-chapter - but by that time it was too late. My desire to write fanfics is now all but dead. I made a sincere effort to get the one-shot done, and the last scene came, slowly and painfully, after months of procrastinating. The ending is somewhat abrupt, but it's enough to enable me to pretend the fic is complete. I apologize to anyone who is disappointed by this short product after such a ridiculously long wait.

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It was cold when Momo parked and got out of the car at the Sohma Estate. She stood there hugging her heavy coat around herself, smiling as she looked at the building where the party was being held. It blazed with light, and she could see people moving around inside. The faint sound of music, voices, and laughter floated toward her.

_'Home at last,'_ she thought. _'I'll be so glad to finally see my family again. Maybe here I won't have to think about work and Kensuke and R-- who's car is that?'_ Her peaceful thoughts were abruptly broken off when she noticed the blue truck parked close to the house. _'It couldn't be...that jerk wouldn't dare come here and invade my life, after that last phone call I left him to stew over!'_ Momo marched purposefully towards the building.

The music seemed to catch Momo playfully as she walked in the door. The whole place was crowded with warm, familiar people, and Momo felt a happy pang of homesickness as she realized she was back among the people she knew and loved best in the world.

Little Tori was the first one to notice her. "Mama, Mama!" Tori hollered. "Cousin Momo's here!"

Uo turned away from her heated debate with Kyo. "Eh? Well, so she is! Come on in, bunny, you look freezing!"

Momo smiled and raised a hand in response. She was immediately surrounded by relatives, all laughing and exclaiming over her and welcoming her home.

Momiji pushed through the others and flung his arms around her. "Momo!" He poofed into his alternate form, and Momo smiled as she held him.

"Hello, 'Niisan." Momo cradled her brother in one arm and used the other to hug her parents, cousins, and whoever else was trying for a hug. "I'm so glad to be back! I missed you all."

"Naturally!" Ayame laughed.

Momo got a good look at him for the first time and gasped.

Ayame grinned and elegantly flicked back a lock of silver hair that came down to his chin. "You like it?"

"You look like...your brother," Momo said helplessly.

"But of course! My dear Yuki said I must if he was to grow out his hair like mine!"

Yuki groaned. "I _recall_ saying something to the effect of, 'The possibility of me imitating your hairstyle is as slim as the possibility of you imitating mine.' That was NOT a suggestion to go slashing all your hair off, _nor_ was it an agreement that I'd grow my hair if you cut yours!"

"I dunno, Yuki," Kyo drawled. "I think you _oughta_ grow out your hair for the next time you wear that pretty dress from the cultural festival."

Sohmas were dodging out of the way even before Yuki gasped with rage and leaped at his cousin. Momo laughed and watched as the two battled it out. Kyo ended up in a chokehold, struggling in vain to free himself. Yuki did not release him until he gasped out an apology. Kyo jerked free, his hair wild, and would have renewed the fight if his son Tohaku hadn't come dashing up to Yuki.

"Hey you big mouse, you beat Dad but I betcha can't beat me!"

"No bets, please," said Yuki, but then he had to raise a swift arm to block Tohaku's punch. The two of them waltzed around, Tohaku laughing and trying to get through Yuki's defense, Yuki grinning and pretending that it was harder to fend off the boy than it actually was.

Kyo threw up his hands and backed away in disgust, only to find Tohru waiting for him with a smile. "You were wonderful, Kyo."

"I _lost_."

She placed her hand on his face, gently forcing him to look into her eyes. "I'm still here."

"Yeah," he muttered. "I got you and he didn't." He kissed her forehead and looked placated.

Momo was standing there, looking around and marveling. The kids had all gotten so big while Momo was gone. Kia was sixteen now, a lovely young woman, currently playing cards with Mayuko, Hatsuharu, Kagura, and Ritsu. Momo noticed that Kia was wearing her red baseball cap.

Ritsu gasped as he laid down his cards and the other players groaned. "Oh, I am so sorry! I didn't mean to win-- I mean, I did, but please forgive me for making you all feel so bad--"

"Ritsu," Mayuko said sternly.

"Um...hurray...I won," Ritsu whispered timidly.

"Not quite," Hatsuharu said, and calmly laid down his own cards.

"You must have cheated!" Kia yelled. A minor argument broke out, and Ritsu looked happier.

Momo also saw fourteen-year-old Aya, chattering happily to a bored-looking Kureno; and ten-year-old Hiroshi, who was playing a handheld video game in a corner with a strange closed look on his face. Hatsuharu and Rin's adopted five-year-old boy stood contemplating a computer screensaver, and the rest of the small children, in addition to Kisa and Kagura's husband Daisuke, were playing with toys and two of the cats.

"It's been so long," Momo said to herself. "They've been growing so much while I was away...I don't even recognize that little girl in yellow."

"Kisa and Hiro's youngest, remember? Risa?" said an accented male voice behind Momo.

"Oh yeah, she was only a ba--" Momo's reply had been automatic, but then her eyes widened as she recognized who she was responding to. She whirled around, and there he was. Ronnie, standing there as casually as if he had a perfect right to invade _her_ family's home, looking at her with that stupid American grin as if he was actually glad to see her. "What are you _doing_ here?!" Momo shouted.

There was a startled silence, then laughter and sheepish grins from other Sohmas as they realized what was going on.

"Oh dear!" Mine sang. "How on earth did Ronnie-san get here? Do you know, Aya?" she addressed her husband.

"Good gracious, no! 'Tori-san, can you _imagine_ what could have happened to make Ronnie-kun feel he was wanted at this joyous celebration?"

"Let me guess," Hatori muttered. "He got an invitation."

"Several," Momo's mother said mischievously.

"Oh, you sent one too?" Hatsuharu said vaguely. "I should have thought of that before I...well, never mind."

"You GUYS!" Momo shrieked. "How _could_ you?!"

"For your information, Momo," Kia said obnoxiously, "you're probably the _only_ Sohma who doesn't like Ronnie-kun. Or at least pretends not to."

"Kia!" Momo cried furiously.

"Ronnie-'niisan's nice," little Risa said. She had wandered over to Ronnie, who picked her up and cuddled her before turning to wink at Momo.

Momo emitted a sound of wordless rage, then stalked into the kitchen before she could embarrass herself further. A few people tried to come in after her, but they were gently stopped by Tohru, who slid the door closed after she came in.

After a while, Momo finally blew out a breath and spoke. "I'm so mad. How could they do this to me? _Everyone_ knows how I feel about Ronnie; how could they deliberately flaunt him in my face like this? When I'm finally back to visit, too! I could-- argh!"

There was a pause. "Momo," Tohru said gently, "I'm sorry they invited him against your wishes. I know it must hurt you to see Ronnie-san right now."

"_You_ didn't invite him, did you?"

"Oh, no! Of course not!"

"But you knew he was coming?" Momo persisted.

Tohru hesitated. "I did ask them to consider your feelings--"

Momo resisted the urge to do something violent. This wasn't her house and she ought not to damage it.

Tohru, apparently recognizing the signs after having lived with Kyo for so many years, fell silent. Then she said softly, "I'm sorry."

Momo sighed. "Well...it's not like this is _my_ party...they have a right to invite whoever they want."

Tohru stayed with her for a little while longer, until Momo had calmed down enough to go back out. Momiji was waiting for her.

"Momo!"

"'Niisan." Momo looked up at him and marveled that such a tall man could get away with dressing like a much younger person. "I'm sorry for losing my temper back there."

"I was waiting for you, Momo. Hey, hey, they've been asking for a duet. How 'bout it?"

"On the violin? 'Niisan, I haven't played in years. Since I got out of college."

"Aw, come on, Momo! You're still good."

"Not as good as you."

"Good enough to sound beautiful! Let's go, Momo. It will make Mama happy."

Momo softened a little. "Well, all right. She hasn't seen us together in a while."

People started cheering when they saw the golden-haired siblings unpacking their instruments and clearing a space in front of one wall. Momo felt herself blushing as she began tuning the strings. "We'll play the stuff we used to, okay? The stuff we used to practice a lot together."

"Of course!"

"I mean, don't take requests I don't know, or go off on some tangent where I can't follow--"

"It'll be fine, Momo!" Momiji said cheerily.

_'Easy for you to say. You still practice,'_ Momo thought. But she knew that Momiji would never intentionally embarrass her or make her look bad.

"Okay," Momiji announced after they were ready. "My lovely sister Momo and I will be playing some wonderful songs for you, because you are all wonderful people! This first song is dedicated to my mama--"

_"--the most beautiful, caring, super woman in the whole wide world!"_ everyone chanted along. They broke into laughter, for Momiji always said something like this before a performance. Momiji beamed, heedless of their teasing. He glanced at Momo, nodded, and then they started. Momo was hesitant at first, especially since the opening notes were hers, but the strength and beauty of her brother's music when he came in calmed her.

Momo skipped a note here and there, and at one point forgot what part came next, but for the most part she was amazed at how much her fingers remembered. All the hours her mother had forced her to practice, and all the hours Momo had spent playing with Momiji for the sheer joy of doing something together with him, had done their job. Halfway through, Momo even loosened up enough to smile, and the one time she accidentally glanced at Ronnie, who was watching her with a half-smile, she only missed a note or two and then found her place again pretty easily.

All throughout, Momiji's music encircled and passed through hers, supporting her, covering up her mistakes, enriching her part so that Momo sounded much more skilled than she actually was. Even as she played, Momo admired Momiji's talent. When she stole a glance at his face, she saw that he was completely caught up in the music.

The song came to a close, and Momo managed to bring her part to a graceful finish. She was startled when Momiji, who had begun to hum near the end, did not stop along with the violins. He began to sing, his voice the only sound to be heard in the silent room. When Momo thought she knew the song well enough to accompany him, she took a deep breath and began to play again. He turned his head slightly and smiled at her, and his voice wrapped around the voice of her violin, producing a melody every bit as lovely as the one made by the two violins earlier. Momo realized, when it was over, that tears were running down her cheeks.

"Momo! Why are you crying?" Momiji asked in astonishment, as everyone else applauded loudly.

"It was so beautiful."

"Oh. Well, I'm glad, Momo!" He smiled so prettily at her that she had to stop crying and smile back.

"Momiji-chan!" Their mother pounced on Momiji and ruffled his hair in lieu of hugging him. "You were wonderful! You too, Momo! My two little songbirds." She wrapped her arms around Momo and squeezed.

"Ow! Come on, Mama, I'm a person, not a pillow." Momo shook her head. Their mother had found out five years ago that Momiji was really her son. She had been edgy around him at first, but after that she had started acting like a lively young mother raising a fun-loving small child. And Momiji had responded by behaving more childishly than he did before. It had amazed Momo to see her mother so cheerful, playful, almost _hyper_, but she had eventually gotten used to it. Her father had explained to her that it was their way of "making up for lost time," trying to reclaim some of those lost childhood years between mother and son.

Uo's voice rang out over all the noise. "I propose a toast!" She waited while everyone chuckled and found their drinks, or poured new ones. "To Momiji and Momo, our little rabbits."

"To Momiji and Momo," everyone laughed, and drank.

Hatori suddenly stepped forward. "And to Akito," he said, only just loud enough to be heard.

Everyone quickly sobered. "To Akito," they all murmured. Momo clutched her cup. It hurt more than she expected, to be reminded so bluntly of Akito, who had finally succumbed to the inevitable three years ago. There had been a brief pang when she'd entered the Estate earlier, though she had been able to suppress it then. But now the thought of their beloved former leader was clearly weighing heavily on everyone's mind at the moment.

"Daddy, can I give a toast, too?" one of the children whispered. It was Kyoko, Kyo and Tohru's youngest daughter.

Kyo glanced at everyone else, his face pink. "Er...Kyoko, this isn't the best time--"

"Oh come on," Mayuko said. "What's your toast, peanut?"

Kyoko's face brightened. "I toast to Sailor Moon, because she's pretty!"

The wave of laughter that greeted this proposal made Kyoko cover her face with her hands and burst into tears. As they good-naturedly made the toast, Kyo and Tohru tried to convince Kyoko that they weren't laughing _at_ her, they were just laughing _with_-- well, there was no reason to cry, anyway. The other children tried to propose toasts as well, but most of the grown-ups lost interest. The kids amused themselves by making up absurd toasts and chugging glasses of juice and eventually getting into silly arguments.

"So Momo. How've you been?"

Momo gritted her teeth, then turned to face Ronnie. "Just fine," she said coolly.

"Everything going all right with what's-his-name?" Ronnie was still smiling, but his eyes were cold.

"It's Kensuke! And of course everything is fine, I've never been happier."

"Ah. That'd be why you came alone, then."

Momo colored. "He was busy, Ronnie. People get busy at New Year's."

"Too busy to accompany his lovely girlfriend to be introduced to her relatives at a very special and important family gathering?"

"I'm not so clingy that I need to drag my boyfriend everywhere I go!" She did not mention that Kensuke's excuse for not coming with her had been rather lame. "And don't think you can win me over by showing up here. Why aren't _you_ out with your precious Misato, anyway? I'm sure she's having a very lonely New Year's right now."

"No," Ronnie said tightly. "_I'm_ sure she's enjoying her wonderful holiday with her boyfriend. Who isn't me anymore, by the way."

Momo paused to take this in. Then she burst into laughter. "Ha! I told you Ronnie, I always knew you could never keep a girl. What'd you do, treat her like you did me? Like she exists only to look good and do things for you?"

Now it was Ronnie's turn to blush. "I told you that I'd try to change!"

"Yeah, you changed. For a week you changed, and then you were back to ordering me around and- and telling me how I should dress!"

"I only did that once!"

"You did it three times!"

"Fine then, _tree timesh_," Ronnie mocked viciously.

Momo gasped. The way he had said it, imitating her lisp... Shame flooded her, and turned quickly to fury. She lashed out and caught him hard on the side of the face, just as he made to duck.

Ronnie snapped out a bad word and backed away, one hand to his face. Sohmas had turned to stare at them.

"There now, Ronnie-kun," Ayame exclaimed. "That is no way to speak to a lady! You must woo her with gentle romance!"

Ronnie controlled his feelings with some difficulty. "Sorry," he managed. He tried to push through the crowd, wanting to get away from Momo and all the crazy feelings he associated with her. Tohru caught his arm and coaxed him along with her so she could patch up the cut on his face, which was bleeding from Momo's fingernails.

"Momo, what was that about?" Momiji asked with an air of childish worry.

"Nothing. Obviously I attacked him without provocation, and of course I'm in the wrong, because Ronnie's perfect and everyone loves him."

"Just like you, Momo!"

Momo shook her head, smiling. But then she asked her brother seriously, "'Niisan? Am I really the bad guy? Am I really being too stubborn to see what a 'wonderful' guy Ronnie is and take him back?"

Momiji cocked his head as he looked at her. "Did I ever tell you about Hilde?"

Momo frowned. "Hilde? I don't recognize the name."

There was an odd smile playing around the corners of Momiji's mouth. "I met her in Germany. At college."

"Your girlfriend?" Momo said incredulously.

He shrugged. "Maybe. She was beautiful and funny and happy. She liked me a lot. But...well, one day we were talking about maybe getting married and having kids. And she said...if she ever had a baby with some kind of problem, like a birth defect - she said she'd get rid of it. She couldn't stand to raise a baby like that." Momiji swallowed. "I was glad I hadn't told her about the curse yet. What she said, I kept thinking about it for a long time, over and over...and Momo, I couldn't do it again. I couldn't let myself get rejected again, and I couldn't ever, ever let something like that happen to my child, no matter what was wrong with it."

Momo felt awkward. "So you broke up with her?"

"I tried to tell myself that it was just one thing she said, that I could get over it. But...I never did. I started to dread being with her. And then, well, she started liking someone else, and it was almost a relief when she told me she just wanted to be friends." He turned his face away. "Almost a relief. I still miss her. The last time I saw her was at her wedding."

"'Niisan..."

He turned back to her suddenly. "But you know what, Momo? Just because she hurt me didn't mean that she became any less beautiful and funny and happy. And it didn't mean that she was any less worthy of being loved. By me or anybody."

Momo was quiet. "I wish I could hug you," she finally said.

Momiji suddenly giggled. "Actually, you're about to wish you could hit me, because I made up that whole story. But I'm too quick for you, Momo!"

By the time his words had registered, Momiji had already skipped away. But that didn't stop Momo from shrieking with embarrassment and mock-rage as she swung at her brother. "You little liar! Come back here, 'Niisan!" He laughed and fled, and soon they were joined by many of the kids. Annoyed adults called for them to take it outside, so Momo and Momiji got jackets onto the kids and dashed out into the cold. Momo's revenge turned into a game of tag, and then fruits basket, until everyone was either too tired to run or laughing too hard to stay upright.

Young Aya hadn't joined in the game, because it was too cold outside for her. But after talking to the grown-ups for a while, and eating, and playing with the cats, she finally bundled up and went outside.

The game had wound down. Cold children were slowly trickling back inside, and the rabbit siblings were sitting on the porch, talking. Aya wandered away from the house.

The sounds from the party had faded by the time Aya could see the shrine. She felt all alone in the midst of the cold Sohma Estate, a feeling that was not unpleasant, though not particularly cozy. And then Aya caught sight of movement inside the shrine.

Aya paused. Then she entered the dark little building curiously, wondering who would rather be here than at the warm, cheerful party.

A man knelt before the picture of Akito that stood on the little altar. He was fairly young, maybe in his early 30s, though it was a little hard to tell because of the untidy beard. His dark hair was long and ragged, his clothes were tattered, and he didn't seem too clean. He was weeping.

Aya pushed back her hood. Her long silver hair, already coming loose from its bun, finally tumbled free completely. "I'm sorry, Mr. Bum, but you are what is called 'trespassing.' However, I will be quite generous and allow you to stay here, as long as you do not make a mess or let anyone else see you. Perhaps I will even sneak you some food. Haha, that sounds like something out of an adventure novel! I wonder why you are crying, because you cannot possibly know Akito-sama-- If you try to harm me, I will scream, and then all my strong and beautiful uncles and cousins will come and throw you out, Mr. Bum."

The man had turned and was staring at her intensely. "Aya?" he whispered.

"Oh, you know my name?" she said, strangely pleased.

He stood and came towards her slowly. "You are a woman. How did you become a woman, Aya?"

"Why, I was born that way, you silly man!" Aya laughed.

He stopped. "You are not Ayame, I think, but you look like him."

"Oh! You must be talking about my father, Ayame Sohma. That is so funny, that you would think I was him! But of course we do look somewhat alike. Do you know my father, Mr. Bum? Should I go and fetch him? That would be quite tiring, though, to go and get him and then bring him back here, so perhaps you had better come up to the house--"

"I was too late," the man whispered.

"Pardon me, Mr. Bum?"

"If you call me a bum one more time, I will tie your pretty hair to that post and leave you out in the cold."

"Really! How rude of you. You need a bath and a shave and a haircut, you know."

"Yes. I do." He laughed. It was a strange, frightening laugh, and Aya shivered.

"What was that you said before you threatened me with bodily harm?" she asked.

"I said, I was too late. Akito is dead, isn't he."

"Why, yes he is. That is his picture there--"

"I know." They looked at each other for a moment. The man said in a low voice, "I went to my old house. It was dark and empty. But I could see that children live there now...there was a wedding picture of Kyo-kun and Tohru-kun..." He shook his head. "It wasn't enough for him to go breaking my house every two minutes, now he's gone and filled it with cat-spawn. And he's stolen my little wife." He smiled. Then he suddenly buried his face in his hands and choked out a sob.

"You are a very perplexing man. But come up to the house. The grown-ups will know what to do with you. We are having a New Year's party, by the way, because it is tradition to get all the family together--"

"New Year's," the man hissed. He shivered and dropped his hands to his sides. "Just the thought of it makes me sick now." He followed Aya outside, but then he suddenly caught her arm. "Girl, how old are you?"

"I am fourteen years old. For my last birthday party, Father made me a splendid gown with pink ribbons on--"

"Never mind that. What year is it?"

"Silly! On New Year's, the old year becomes the new year, which means that you simply add one to the previous year, and you get the number of the new year!"

"You really are Ayame's daughter," he said in disgust. "Girl, just oblige me and give me the date."

She did.

He fell back a step, his mouth open. "That can't be true! Aya and Ha-san, how old are they?"

"Do you mean Uncle 'Tori? He and my father are both forty-six years old. Oh, you do not look well. Perhaps you should have Uncle 'Tori take a look at you. He is a doctor, you know."

"It can't be," he whispered. "How can so much time have passed here? They cheated me...they _cheated_ me..." The shocked expression in his eyes slowly faded. His face now looked like stone. "Well then. We might as well go. Aya." He glanced at her as he hesitantly added her name. "Aya-chan," he whispered again. Very gently, he picked up a lock of her silver hair and stroked it between two fingers. "You are quite beautiful."

Aya smiled warningly. "I hope you are not a pervert, Mr. Bum. I shall remind you again that I have many men in my family who will gallantly defend my virtue."

He let the lock of hair slide out of his fingers. "I only meant that Aya did well. He must be quite proud of you." A ghostly smile flickered across his lips before he passed by her and headed slowly toward the house.

Aya watched him for a moment, feeling strange, like her heart was aching. Then she moved up and walked silently at his side.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Momo had just offered to go back out and look for Aya when the girl herself stepped through the door. There was a chorus of relieved laughter, and Ayame and Mine swept up to their daughter, both talking at once as they affectionately pulled her away from the door and helped her off with her jacket.

"Oh, Mother, Father," the girl managed to say. "I met somebody outside."

"Met someone?" Mine repeated curiously.

"A man," Aya added casually.

"Ah!" Ayame's eyes glinted. "A meeting of soft gazes in the snow...the flutter of a young man's heart, the rose-like blush creeping across a young girl's cheeks...my daughter has found romance!" Mine heard this and beamed.

Aya laughed. "No, Father, not that sort of a man! He is quite dirty and I suppose he is a homeless person. I did not know what else to do with him."

At this, everyone turned curiously toward the door. At first, Momo could see only the darkness of night outside. Then a shadow moved, and she realized it was a person; he stepped onto the porch, and though the light from the doorway slanted clearly across his dirty bare feet and the dirtier rags covering him, it did not reach quite to his chest, so that his face was still concealed in shadows.

"Oh, do come in," Tohru said at once. "Don't be afraid. We'll be quite happy to let you eat and clean up, and give you a place to stay, for as long as you need." Kyo snorted a little at her generosity, but did not otherwise protest.

There was a low chuckle from the figure outside the doorway. "Why, thank you, Tohru-kun. I never imagined, when I took you in all those years ago, that one day you would have to return the favor."

The room went very still. The children looked up, puzzled and worried, and Momo felt nervous as she glanced around. What was going on?

The stranger slowly stepped into full light. Momo was startled at first by the dirty, emotion-ravaged face, but after a moment she realized that this man was still fairly young, and he had once been quite handsome. _'Who is he?'_ she wondered. _'Does everyone know him?'_

Hatori came up to the man, moving as if weights were dragging at him. Ayame drifted slowly forward like a ghost, his face rigid. The three of them stared at each other for a long time, searching for familiar features.

"You cut your hair off," the man said to Ayame, a little sadly.

"Oh, 'Gure-san," Ayame whispered. "What happened to you?"

Shigure raised his head and looked around at the Sohma family, his eyes burning. "I broke the curse," he said. "That's what happened."

-----------------------------------------------------------

Momo came in from the kitchen with a steaming cup of tea in her hands. She knelt quietly at the living room table and sipped at her drink, watching Shigure Sohma. After some food, a shower, a shave and haircut, a change of clothes, and a full night's sleep, he was much more respectable-looking than he had been the night before; but his face was still the face of an old man, and his eyes kept their haunted, bitter expression. He stood now on the porch of his old house, the house that now belonged to Kyo and Tohru, and he looked out at the yard where Kazuma was supervising Tohaku's martial arts practice.

"I...I don't know if you remember me," Momo said awkwardly after several minutes of silence.

"Momo Sohma. Momitchi's cute little sister." Shigure turned around and smiled faintly at her. "You were very young when I left."

Momo smiled back. "I don't remember you from back then, but I've heard a lot about you since. I am very honored to meet you, sir."

Shigure shook his head and came slowly to kneel at the table with her. "I feel like I've returned to a completely different world." He glanced back out at Tohaku. "Who would have thought that the Cat could find so much happiness. Who would have thought that the members of the Sohma family would one day be able to smile with free hearts. My one hope at the end was that I would be able to share in that joy..."

"What can't you?" Momo asked hesitantly.

Shigure gazed at her for a long while. "You can't know how it feels. Like it's lost to me forever...I thought I would be able to come back, laugh with my friends, raise a family of my own, watch Akito heal and learn to truly live." He sighed and dropped his eyes. "I came back to find a family that has moved on without me. Hatori doesn't know what to say to me. Ayame cries every time he sees me. I feel old - you can't know how old! Like I've lived many lifetimes already. And Akito is dead..." Shigure's hand came up to briefly cover his eyes. "I think I could have faced the rest if only Akito were still alive."

Momo felt sorry for Shigure. She couldn't watch such dejection and say nothing to ease it. "But look what you've done," she said encouragingly. "You've destroyed the last of the curse. The _Juunishi_ can embrace their spouses, their children...their siblings..." Sudden tears welled in Momo's eyes as she remembered the feel of Momiji's arms around her. It was the first time her brother had ever been able to hold her, and they had both cried then, too.

It had happened the night before, when, after Shigure's explanation, Ayame bravely threw his arms around his wife, and stood there, and then hid his face against her shoulder as one second after another passed and he remained in his human form.

Kyo had said in an angry voice, "I can't believe this. After all this time, Shigure, you're still joking around and playing with people's feelings!" Without a word, Shigure had marched toward him purposefully. Looking suddenly afraid, Kyo had backed away, and gasped in horror when Shigure grabbed his hand before he could stop him and pulled his bracelet off. Kia and Tohaku had left the room instantly. But seconds ticked by, and nothing else happened, and Kyo stood staring at the bare wrist Shigure held until he suddenly collapsed to his knees and began to weep. Tohru ran to comfort him, and tears ran down her own face as she put her arms around him and held him close.

It had been an incredible, terrifying, liberating moment.

Shigure looked at her. "It was the first time you were able to embrace your brother," he said softly. "I forgot." He hesitated, the hardness in his face melting slightly. "Momo-san...was it worth it? Was what I endured-- was my sacrifice worth it?"

"Yes," Momo assured him. Her gratitude shone in her voice. "Oh Shigure-san, I can't thank you enough. You saw the look on Mama's face, right? The way she and Momiji cried when they were able to hug each other? There had been such pain between them for so long. Now there is no barrier left between them. You have restored a mother to her son."

"And a son to his mother. Well, Momo-san...you might be glad to hear that you have eased my heart."

"I hope so," Momo whispered. "Oh, I hope so."

---------------------

Author's Notes: Yes, I know you're screaming at me for cutting off Ayame's hair. Actually, I do have an explanation, and it's that I thought it would be an interesting idea for Ayame to copy Yuki's hairstyle. Tohru did say, seeing a picture of Ayame in high school, that he looked like Yuki. My friend Kittycow actually illustrated this for me. You can see it at: www . deviantart . com/deviation/10328779/

Momiji's mom changes personalities on me every time I write her. That woman is horrible to work with.

It is silly of me to go writing post-series fics when the series itself is incomplete. I have read manga summaries through to the end, so I know by now that the curse is _not_ lifted in any of the ways I had imagined. My vague idea, for this fanfic at least, was that Shigure had somehow struck a deal with the zodiac spirits, promising to go to their spirit world and do unspecified stuff in exchange for the real curse (the bond or whatever) being broken. While he was gone the _Juunishi_ would still have to deal with the poof-transformations (because, let's face it, the transformations are fun), but they would have time to recover; and then when Shigure returned, even that part of the curse would be gone. Also, inspired by tales of people spending a night in Fairyland and returning to find that seven years have passed, I thought that maybe Shigure spent thirteen months in the spirit world, one month for each zodiac spirit, but when he came back it ended up that thirteen _years_ had passed. Actually, that wouldn't have worked, but whatever. Anyway, that's what he meant by "They cheated me;" he didn't know so much time would pass in the real world. He also now hates anything to do with New Year's, the zodiac, etc.

I never got to use the subplot with Hiroshi, about him enduring teasing from his classmates and being rescued by Momo and/or Ronnie. I also didn't get to play with Momo and Ronnie's love-hate relationship much, or give Hatsuharu and Ritsu more screen time like I wanted.

Yes, well. Last time, I killed off Shigure (I realized later) because he started acting freaky-sinister in the manga. Then, just when I started to forgive him and invite him back in, Akito had to go pull that earth-shaking stunt in chapter 97. I am thinking that may be why I subconsciously decided to kill him off in this one.

I realized, while writing one of the early scenes, that Ronnie must know about the curse by now. Oh well.


End file.
